


The Dead follow us. Did you know?

by TheGirlyDJ



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!, One Piece, Original Work
Genre: As in he's a reincarnation of someone else, Demigods, Different Devil Fruit Monkey D. Luffy, Dying Will Flames, Female Monkey D. Luffy, Genderbending, Genderfluid Character, Luffy is an OC, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Reincarnation, Serious Monkey D. Luffy, Smart Monkey D. Luffy, just so you know, references to other media, sometimes, the Katekyo Hitman Reborn tag is only there because there's Flames in this thing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-19
Updated: 2019-04-12
Packaged: 2019-05-25 11:09:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 46,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14975897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheGirlyDJ/pseuds/TheGirlyDJ
Summary: Reincarnation is a funny thing. At least, it start being funny once you're out of the baby years, they're just boring. He hadn't planned on falling into that stupid pool, but here he was, living the life of someone who would have been born dead otherwise. He knew he would return home eventually, so he might as well take the chance. His name is now Monkey D. Justin and if being Pirate King meant he would be Free, then that's what he's going to become. The previous King had already given him his blessing, so what was stopping him anyway?OC Reincarnated as Luffy. Different Devil Fruit. Different person all together! Don't like, don't read.





	1. Of New Beginnings and Crazy Grandpas

He didn't really remember the chain of events got him in this situation.

One minute he was sparing with his siblings, the next he was falling into that annoying Reincarnation Pool along with Melody, Gabriel and Anastasia, all of them staring in shock at their mother, the one who had pushed them after telling them in a desperate voice that didn't fit on the strong woman:

" _I have lost enough family already, I am NOT losing you too! Go! Get stronger, gain allies and return when you are ready!"_

He had hit the glowing water of the Pool and woken up in the arms of a crying man with black hair and eyes, who was looking to the side at who he presumed was his mother in this life.

Reincarnation was so annoying. Especially when you had to start out as a baby!

Being a baby was as boring as he remembered it being from when he was still young, though he would always be thankful that normal people age much faster then his family did, because compared to that this was nothing. It meant he didn't have to wait long before he was able to walk around and explore.

From what he had gathered, he had been left with his grandfather because his father was some kind of criminal and didn't want to risk his son getting killed because of him.

It was one of the better excuses he had heard for a parent that was still alive shoving their child on someone else, so he wasn't really mad at his 'father' but still, he had to have known someone better to give him to then the crazy man that was his 'grandpa' in this life! And the man was crazy, even more so then his mother.

He had never been more grateful for not being able to feel pain, because Garp's idea of training was basically throwing him off of and/or into things that would have probably killed him if he was actually a child.

In a way, he was both sad and relieved when Garp left him on an island in the East Blue called 'Dawn Island' because on one hand, the only family he had ever known in this world had just left him with a complete stranger. On the other, no more crazy training for at least 6 months.

Makino, as he found out her name was, was nice enough, though she seemed to find it a little strange that he had a tendency to not noticed he was hurt until someone pointed it out to him and that the few times he did realise he was hurt it wasn't because of the pain, but because his clothes had started getting sticky from the blood and it was starting to annoy him.

He had been with Makino for a few years when a pirate ship arrived on the island and the crew decided that Makino's bar was the best place to get proper booze.

The pirates had been at the bar for a bit before he came back from the forest, simply going up to the bar and gratefully taking the water Makino had set in front of him with a small smile. He hadn't said anything to the pirates, merely observing them party with an air of polite curiosity until the red-haired pirate in the straw-hat had asked him who he was.

He hadn't answered, merely telling him, "It was his choice. He was dying. Don't blame yourself for things you can't control." setting his empty glass back on the bar and walking out, leaving behind a wide-eyed Red Haired Shanks and a laughing Gol D. Roger.

After that the late Pirate King had started following him around, laughing at the many, many attempts his former cabin-boy made to corner him and get him to explain how he knew what he knew. Most of them failed thanks to the wonderful ability known as shadow travel, giving him many chances to ask the ghostly D questions he had wanted answers to ever since he had been born in this world.

Of course, even he couldn't outmaneuver one of the Four Emperors forever and Shanks eventually cornered him. And the look on his face was a memory he would treasure for the rest of his days.

* * *

He looked up at the glaring pirate with dry amusement, something that showed in the small smile he had on his face, even if the rest of his face was shadowed by the hood of his hoodie.

"Alright kid. You have been avoiding me for over a week and I think it's high time you answered my questions," he growled, eyes fierce and the faces of his crew hard.

He cocked his head, looking at the transparent form of Roger standing behind and to the side of Shanks, looking at his cabin-boy with a slight frown on his face.

"What questions, Red Haired Shanks?" he asked quietly, locking eyes with the Emperor from under his hood.

The man's grip on his sword tightened and a strong force started pressing down on his back, trying to bring him to his knees.

He just continued to stare into the man's eyes, a slight frown creasing him forehead, and loosened his grip on the shadows, allowing them to move slightly like they had wanted to since the beginning of this little confrontation.

If the pirate noticed the shadows moving he didn't let it show.

"How do you know about my Captain?" the man growled, the force on his back pressing down harder.

His smile turned into a slight smirk.

"The Dead follow us. Did you know?" he asked instead, smirk gone and the force wavering slightly at his question. "Our loved ones, those that you let into your heart or let you into theirs. They watch over us, protect us from ourselves and show us the way when we die. I pity those that has no one behind them, because they are the ones that can never truly love nor be loved by anyone." he told them softly, taking in the disbelieving expressions of the pirates.

"I can see them," he whispered, making the pirates jolt slightly in surprise. "They talk to me, tell me stories, ask me or beg me to tell those they follow that they are there. That they never left."

His eyes glowed slightly to show the Emperor he was looking him in the eyes.

"Your Captain stands behind you. Laughing at your expressions and adventures."

The glow faded from his eyes, his grip on the shadows tightened again as he kept quiet, allowing the man time to think.

It didn't take long, the man still staring him down as he quietly said: "Show me."

He walked forward, ignoring the way the crew protested to their Captain's decision. He held a hand out, waiting to see if the man would understand. He did, crouching down and allowing him to cover his eyes.

His eyes glowed as he talked in his Father's tongue.

"Μάθετε να βλέπετε τον κόσμο για αυτό που είναι."(1)

The man's head jerked back, stumbling into a standing position unsteadily as he blinked his now faintly glowing eyes rapidly.

The crew pulled out weapons and pointed them at him, glaring.

"What did you do to our Captain you little-?!"

The Emperor interrupted the sniper, staring at the form of his former Captain in shock.

"Captain…?" he said quietly, unable to believe what his eyes were telling him.

The ghostly King just grinned.

" _Hey there cabin-boy! Missed me?"_

He smirked at the look on Shanks' face.

* * *

It didn't take long after that for Shanks and his crew to warm up to him, telling him of their many adventures and letting him sit with them when they partied, even if that part wasn't something he was overly enthusiastic about.

Makino was slightly confused by the pirates change in attitude, but she was no less grateful for it. She had been worried the pirates would kill him because of their apparent dislike of him.

What he liked the most about them however, was the fact they didn't ask him to constantly let them see their departed loved ones or for him to act like some sort of weird Den-Den-Mushi between the living and the dead. Instead, they let  _him_  choose when to let them see and waited for  _him_ to want to tell them what they said in return. They didn't try to force the issue and for that, he was grateful.

One day, about nine months after the Red Haired Pirates had started using Dawn Island as a base of sorts, they returned from a trip with Banchina, the sniper Yasopp late wife, walking straight up to him the minute the ship was docked.

" _My Prince,"_  she said, giving him a smile he returned with a nod.

"Banchina," he said quietly, making Yasopp freeze and turn to him in curiosity. "What has you smiling?"

The smile grew, the woman pointing towards a small chest in Shanks' hands.

" _It would seem your Father convinced your Uncle to help him make you a gift,"_ she told him, laughing softly when he turned to look at the chest.

" **My Father?"** he asked in the language of the Dead, making Yasopp sigh slightly in disappointment and go back to what he had been doing, him and the crew all knowing that once he started talking in the ancient language, it meant that whatever was getting discussed was not for them to know.

" _Indeed,"_ she said, staring at the chest. " _It contains something that will aid you and your family once you return to your home, though it will not be easy to control. Once you have taken it, you must go to the shore and wait for your Uncle's part of the gift."_ with those words the woman walked back over to stand behind Yasopp, looking at him fondly before disappearing, going back to watch over her son.

He walked over to Shanks, making the Captain look at him curiously.

"It would seem my Father used you as a way to give me a gift Shanks," he said in slight amusement, smiling at the Captain's bewildered blinking as he looked between him and the chest in his hands.

"Eh? Why would your dad use me to get it to you instead of doing it himself?" he asked in confusion, making his amusement grow slightly in response.

"My Father is a busy man, and cannot always visit me himself," he explained smoothly, easily taking the chest from Shanks' hands and walking away with it, leaving a confused pirate crew behind.

He walked until he got to a little used beach at the bottom of a cliff, taking off his shoes, socks and hoodie and placing them on a dry rock before walking to the edge of the water and setting the chest in the sand.

He swiftly opened it, his eyebrows going beneath his fringe as he stared at the dark colored Devil Fruit resting in it.

It looked a little like an apple in shape, but that was were the similarities ended. The main color was black, with purple swirls and dark blue dots decorating the fruit in different places.

He reached down and took the fruit out of the chest, holding it to his face.

"Δεν ήξερα ότι ο Πατέρας μου ήθελε για μένα να πνιγώ,"(2) he said dryly, looking out towards the smiling Nereid in the water.

The dark haired woman laughed, moving closer to the shore with a smile.

"Ω, αλλά δεν το κάνει, ο Μικρός Πρίγκιπας. Οι δυνάμεις του αίματος της μητέρας σας δεν μπορούν ποτέ να ληφθούν από εσάς, ακόμα και από την κατάρα των φρούτων του διαβόλου,"(3) the woman explained, waiting for him to walk into the water and over to her.

He hummed, not answering as he did what she wanted, walking into the sea until in reached his stomach and he was standing in front of the woman.

"Μπορώ να έχω το λεγόμενο δώρο που έχει ο Θείος μου για μένα?"(4) he asked, looking the woman in the eye.

She laughed quietly again, taking her hands out of the water and holding them so he could see.

In her hands were two thin bracelets, obviously made from the same material that made up parts of his sister's trident. The material that Gabriel had been unable to identify, much to his frustration and the rest of the family's amusement.

The Nereid smiled at his inquiring look.

"Είναι κατασκευασμένα από πέτρα Θάλασσας. Ο καρπός που έκανε ο πατέρας και ο θείος σας για εσάς είναι εξαιρετικά ισχυρός και ούτε καν θα μπορείτε να τον ελέγξετε αμέσως. Αυτά θα σας βοηθήσουν να το κάνετε,"(5) she told him, allowing him to take the bracelets from her hands and take a closer look, "Είναι επίσης το μόνο πράγμα που μπορεί να κρατήσει τους καρπούς του κόλπου, Μικρός Πρίγκιπας. Η μαγεία της μητέρας σας και του Πατέρα σας το κάνει."(6)

He looked at the Nereid with a nod and a small smile.

"Πες στο θείο μου είπα ευχαριστώ,"(7) he told her, preparing to go back to shore.

"Καλή τύχη Μικρός Πρίγκιπας, και οι θεοί είναι μαζί σου,"(8) she said, before disappearing under the water.

He walked towards the shore, stopping once only his feet were submerged in the water and looked at the fruit in his hand.

He bit into it without hesitation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi.
> 
> So, here are the translations. Bare in mind I used google translate for this so I don't know if it's entirely accurate, but I tried.
> 
> 1) "May you see the World for what it is."
> 
> 2) "I was unaware that my Father wished for me to drown."
> 
> 3) "Oh but he doesn't, Little Prince. The powers of your mother's blood can never be taken from you, even by the Curse of the Devil Fruits,"
> 
> 4) "May I have this so called 'gift' my Uncle has for me?"
> 
> 5) "They are made of Sea stone. The fruit your Father and Uncle made for you is immensely powerful and not even you will be able to control it right away. These will help you do so,"
> 
> 6) "They are also the only thing that will be able to keep the fruits powers at bay, Little Prince. The magic of both your mother and Father will make it so."
> 
> 7) "Tell Uncle I said thanks,"
> 
> 8) "Good luck Little Prince, and may the gods be with you,"
> 
> See Ya - TheGirlyDJ


	2. Of Changing Mists and Starting Dreams

When he had returned to the bar, bracelets secure around his wrists, it was just in time to see Shanks offer his sake bottle to a tanned man that took it from his hands and broke it on his head. 

He had frowned, both his own instincts and the ones of his newly eaten Devil Fruit demanding he protect what was His, but he held back, wanting to see what Shanks would do.

His Devil Fruit growled in delight when he realised that Shanks didn’t care one whit about getting sake all over him and instead just asked Makino if she had something he could clear it up with.

 **_‘Strong,’_ ** it purred in his mind, watching Shanks piss the so called ‘mountain bandit’ off by not being affected by anything he said. **_‘Knows it means nothing so long as the Pack is safe.’_ **

He let a small smile grace his features as he walked over to Shanks and handed him one of the towels that were kept behind the bar.

“Ah, thanks Justin! Wait a second, when did you get back?” Shanks asked, looking up at him in confusion.

“Just now,” he said quietly, handing him the chest the fruit had been in.

“Sorry for robbing you of a million beri.”

Shanks waved him away with a grin.

“Nah, it’s fine. It’s clear it wasn’t even our’s to sell in the first place.”

He smiled lightly, but it disappeared when he felt someone grab the back of his hoodie. He was lifted up so that he was face to face with the man that had smashed the sake bottle on Shanks.

The Devil Fruit growled at the man.

“There’s only one thing I know of that can be sold for 1 million beri that fits in that chest. You ate a Devil Fruit, didn’t you boy?” he said, leering at him with greed.

“Yes,” he said simply, staring at the man with a blank face.

The man moved him closer to his face.

“Well then, why don’t you show me what you can do?”

He just looked around the man, noting with slight pity that the man didn’t have anyone following him.

“Hey, I asked you a question brat!”

His head was abruptly moved to the side with the sound of something heavy hitting flesh, making him blink slightly in confusion before he realised the man had just hit him.

He frowned, turning his head to look at the man again, the sounds of chairs being moved quickly telling him the Red Hair Pirates had all stood up.

“I said, show me what you can do brat,” the now sneering man told him.

“No,” he said simply, the man’s face turning into a scowl.

Before he knew it he was outside getting thrown onto the ground, a foot pressing against his chest when he tried to get up.

The man, Higuma he had heard someone call him, leaned down closer to his face, most likely putting even more pressure on his chest even if he couldn’t feel it.

“Listen here you brat,” he began, sneering,”I’ve just been told that there isn’t anymore booze in that bar, so I’m already in a bad mood. Do yourself a favour and do as I say, or I won’t take responsibility for my actions.”

He stared up at the man, every instinct in him howling for his blood to be spilled.

“Why do you want to know?” he asked instead of answering.

The man grinned.

“Because once I know what you can do, I can pitch you to potential buyers and get a fortune!”

He stiffened, his hidden pupils blown wide, before doing something he had not done since coming to this world.

He _snarled,_ allowing the Cloud in his soul to coat his limbs as he grabbed the leg in front of him and heaved, throwing the mountain bandit over his head and placed his now free hands on either side of his head, pulling himself to stand on his hands and then flipping over so he was on his feet.

She snarled at the man again, letting the Mist morph and change beneath her clothing and skin, where no one could see it.

“I am no one’s _slave,_ ” she snarled, her voice not changing much and thus allowing what had happened to remain hidden.

The man got up on unsteady feet, glaring at her angrily.

“So your Devil Fruit lets you make purple flames huh? What a useless ability,” he sneered, pointing a gun at her.

She sneered right back, expertly hiding the fact she was slightly tired. The Seastone around her wrists worked almost the same as it would have had she been a normal Devil Fruit user, namely sapping her strength. The only difference was that there was a limit to how much of it they could take, though she didn’t know what that limit was just yet.

She quickly dodged the first bullet, though she knew the second had hit her by the triumfant look on the bandit’s face and the warm feeling of blood on her skin.

She put her hand to the wound, the Cloud already working to make sure she didn’t bleed out. Even if doing so was now much more exhausting then what she was used to thanks to the bracelets.

The sound of a gun being fired ran through his ear, and he finally let himself show his exhaustion when he saw one of Higuma’s mooks fall to the ground, dead. The Mist twisted, once again changing what could not be seen as he turned to look at Shanks, panting slightly.

Yasopp quickly picked him up, careful of the wound he couldn’t feel, and took him over to their doctor.

He listened with half an ear as Shanks showed the bandits why it was a bad idea to hurt those he called ‘friend’, mostly focused on slowing the Cloud down enough so that he wouldn’t pass out from exhaustion. He knew when the doctor had stitched his wound together, because he felt a pat on his arm and a faint ‘Well done lad’ which made him give a tired smile.

Then the area was enveloped in smoke and he was yanked out of the doctor’s grip and no-to gently hauled into a small boat by the guy who had shot him.

His Cloud flared in anger, his Mist lay in wait and his Devil Fruit roared to be let free.

He could see the small wisps of black dancing in the small space between the bracelets and his skin, never able to move further than that unless he took them off. But he couldn’t do that, not so close to the village. He would kill everyone there if he did.

It wasn’t long before his back hit the water, Higuma apparently deciding he didn’t need him anymore and thus getting rid of him the easiest way he could. By throwing him in the ocean.

Karma soon reared its head though, because the local Sea King, known as the Lord of the Coast, came out and swallowed the mountain bandit in one bite, making him smirk slightly in satisfaction.

He followed the Sea King with his eyes as it swam towards him, stopping in front of him. He opened his mouth, letting bubbles of air pass his lips, but didn’t get to utter a word before there was an arm around his waist and he was pulled to the surface.

He spat out the salty water once his head broke through the surface, looking up at Shanks, who was glaring at the Sea King.

His eyes drifted down, and his mouth opened slightly in shock as he took in Shanks’ now missing arm.

“Shanks…” he whispered in horror, “Your arm.”

Shanks stopped glaring at the Sea King and looked down at him with a small grin.

“Bah, don’t worry about it Justin. It’s just an arm. You’re far more important.”

He just stared at the stump numbly, not saying anything as Shanks began the hard task of swimming back to the shore with just one arm.

* * *

 

He stared up at Shanks, slight sadness filing him.

“You’re leaving,” he said tonelessly, looking at the rest of the crew.

Shanks grinned.

“Yeah. The Marines have started to get suspicious, so we have to go back to the Grand Line,” he explained, Roger giving him a sad smile from behind Shanks.

He just nodded, small smile tugging at his lips as he came up with a response.

“Well, guess I’ll see you there,” he said, laughing softly at the looks on their faces.

“Eh?” they said as one, staring at him in bewilderment.

“I am a Cloud, forever drifting free. I refuse to let anyone chain me down, be they Marine, Pirate or something else,” he explained, “You said that the Pirate King is the one with the most freedom in the world, so that’s what I’m gonna become. The Pirate King, the one no one can command.”

His eyes glowed brightly, allowing Shanks to see the conviction in his gaze clear as day. He was going to do this, was going to fulfil the dream he had always held close to his heart since the day he realised he could never truly be _free._ When he realised his bloodline made it impossible for him to live the life he wanted. That no matter how much his mother let him wander, he would always have to return.

But here, in this world of Pirates, Marines and Devil Fruits, he could finally be free. Free from the responsibilities of his family, free from the pain of seeing those he had befriended wither and died while he remained the same. Free to go wherever he wished, and never return until he wanted to.

He was going to become the Pirate Kind even if it killed him.

Shanks stared into his glowing eyes for a long while, before cracking a grin and laughing.

“DaHaHaHa! Well then brat, I guess I’ll see you on the Grand Line!”

He grinned back.

“I’ll see you there, Red Haired Shanks. May the gods be with you on your journey.”

Shanks and his crew just laughed.


	3. Of New Homes and Trainings

He sighed, glancing back at his grandfather with an air of resigned irritation.

Not long after the Red Hair Pirates had left, barely two days actually, Garp had come crashing through the wall of Makino’s bar and demanded to know where his grandson was.

He had calmly walked up to his grandfather, his new bracelets instantly drawing Garp’s gaze, and before he could even ask him why he was looking for him, he was getting thrown over Garp’s shoulder and carried into the forest.

He hadn’t really been affected, having king of expected something like it to happen, and had calmly started telling his grandfather what had happened while he was away, twisting the way he got his Devil Fruit slightly and leaving out talking to the late Pirate King.

Garp’s pace had quickened when he told him of his new dream of becoming Pirate King, but he hadn’t said anything to it.

Probably because the one time Garp had tried in to force him into becoming a Marine by taking him to Marineford and making some of the higher ranking officers train him without him saying ‘okay’ to the suggestion, he had completely shut down. As in, he had stopped responding when people tried to make conversation, stopped eating unless someone told him to, had just done what was asked of him and then done nothing until someone else told him what to do.

He had become a shell, his consciousness trapped in his head and his body the only thing left.

When Garp finally realised why his grandson had gone from a mischievous little ball of cheerful energy to an emotionless shell with dead eyes and a hollow face, he had immediately taken him back to his ship and just held him to his chest while he cried his eyes out, apologising over and over again for forcing him to come to Marineford.

It had taken almost two months for him to start talking again, but he never returned to the way he had been before going to Marineford, a fact Garp never truly got over.

While his grandfather had realised a couple of months after the ‘Marineford Incident’ that he was somewhat fine with being forced to do things if they had an actual purpose, like making him stronger or because Garp was worried about him and wanted to make sure he would be okay without him, he also realised that if he was forced to do something that made him feel caged, then it was better to just let it drop or risk his grandson turning into nothing more than an empty shell.

“Gramps,” he finally said, his voice not giving even a hint of his irritation. “Why did you grab me when you saw my bracelets?”

“They’re made of Seastone,” Garp began, adjusting him slightly on his shoulder, “And I could tell your strength was getting drained by them, which meant you had eaten a Devil Fruit. I knew there had to be a reason for you wearing them, since you would never do something that gives you such a disadvantage in a fight without a damn good one,” he glanced at him, “Which means your Devil Fruit is dangerous. Too dangerous for you to risk hurting people when you can simply prevent it by limiting your strength. I’m taking you to a place where you can train your powers without having to worry too much about hurting people.”

He smiled slightly, laying his head back down in quiet acceptance. When he put it like that, it really was no wonder Garp had grabbed him without warning.

“I expect you to get my things Gramps,” he said, “And when did you get so good at deduction?”

Garp laughed.

“BwaHaHa! I didn’t become Vice Admiral purely on strength brat!”

He chuckled quietly, content on basking in the presence of his grandfather.

After about 10 minutes of walking they reached a small clearing with a medium sized wooden hut.

This was apparently their destination, because Garp put him back on the ground and started knocking on the door.

He tuned him out, content with looking at the small number of dead lingering around the clearing, all of which were staring at him in wonder.

He felt Garp push him forward and tuned back into the conversation.

“This is my grandson, Justin. Justin, this is Dadan and her lot. You’ll be staying with them, so be nice.”

He looked up at the large orange haired woman standing in the door, staring into her annoyed face calmly.

“Hello,” he said softly, his eyes shifting to look at the transparent man standing behind her. “My name is Monkey D. Justin. Please take care of me.”

The woman continued to stare him down, until he turned around and walked away from the house, toward the small cluster of dead sitting at the edge of the clearing.

He ignored the yelling in the background, sitting down not far from the small group of dead and giving them a small smile. They smiled back, before going back to their poker game, letting him study them in silence.

He observed the small group of men, the two lone women shifting to sit near him sometime during the game, until he felt something wet hitting his cheek.

He wiped it off with his hand, staring down at the spit for a bit before looking to the side, locking eyes with the glaring ones of a 10 year old boy with wavy black hair and freckles, which he undoubtedly got from the blonde woman standing next to the bear the boy was sitting on.

The woman gave him an apologetic smile, which he responded to with a small nod.

“Ah, there you are Ace!”

He stood up, looking up at his grandfather as he walked over to stand next to him.

“Justin, this is Ace. He’s 3 years older than you and he’s staying with Dadan too, so be nice to him,” Garp said, shooting him a look.

“What about child care!?” was yelled from somewhere behind them, to which Garp responded with “Put it on my tab.”

He didn’t really care, staring up at Roger’s child with a tilt of the head. He certainly looked like Roger, he wouldn’t deny that, but he also looked a lot like his mother.

He smiled slightly as Garp left, waiting until he was out of hearing range before messing a bit with the boy.

“You have your mother’s freckles, Portgas D. Ace,” he told him softly, inwardly laughing at the way his eyes widened.

This was going to be fun.

* * *

 

He was right. 

After telling Ace about his mother, it seemed the boy couldn’t decided if he should be angry at him for telling him or ask him how he even _knew_ about his mother.

It was great entertainment, that much he could say without a doubt. Though the gentle scolding Ace’s mother, Rouge, had given him that same evening he could have done without.

He soon became accustomed to living with the bandits and quickly developed a routine. In the morning, he would wake up at dawn and go outside to do stretches and run around the house until breakfast, where he would eat at the same sedated pace he always used, as opposed to stuffing food in his face like the people he now lived with.

Reincarnated he may by, but he was still his mother’s son and damn it, he was not developing such horrible table manners just because everyone around him had black holes for stomachs.

He took great satisfaction in the fact that the first time he ate breakfast with the bandits, they quickly learned not to try and steal his food. The fork now stuck in the table from when he almost stabbed it through someone’s hand served as a good reminder of this.

After breakfast, he would go into the forest and train to build up his strength to what it had been before he put on the bracelets and beyond, like lifting weights, practising martial arts and doing the many, many tortures stretches his sister had taught him when he expressed an interest in ballet.

The interest had faded slightly, but the stretches helped him remain flexible enough to use his prefered fighting style, so he kept using them whenever he trained.

After training until he couldn’t move, (once again blessing the fact he couldn’t feel pain and dreading the day he hit puberty) he would train his Flames until he almost passed out and then take off the bracelets and train his Devil Fruit powers.

That was the hardest part, because his Devil Fruit seemed to have a mind of its own and while he wasn’t exactly new to the whole ‘Sentient powers’ thing, it was something he hadn’t had trouble with since he was a child.

Well… technically, he was a child right now, but still.

By this time it was usually mid day, so he took his stuff and went back to the hut, were he immediately went up to the room he shared with Ace and put his bracelets back on, falling asleep the second they were both around his wrists.

He usually woke up about an hour later, refreshed thanks to his fast healing, and went back out to explore the forest and hunt down some food. He came back around dinnertime, some kind a dead animal always slung over his shoulders, which he was quick to cook and eat, going to bed immediately after.

He had been living with the bandits for almost three months before this routine was broken.

During the course of his stay, him and Ace had never really spoken. Oh sure, they saw each other in the forest every now and then, and at the house of course, but they didn’t speak.

That was about to change.

* * *

 

He walked through the forest, his footsteps light and silent. 

“So how much for a ship? I want a good one, but it seems like we’re pretty rich.”

He stopped, tilting his head to listen.

“Could be 10 million, maybe more.”

He looked up and to the side, staring up at the forms of Ace, a blonde kid he didn’t recognise, Rouge and a transparent man standing behind the blonde kid.

Rouge and the man turned to him, Rouge with a smile and the man with wonder.

He decided to mess a bit with the kids.

“A good ship will most likely cost 15 million, though it depends on what it is made of,” he said, smirking thinly when the kids jumped and looked down at him in shock.

They looked at each other, than at him again, before quickly climbing down and rushing him, their intent clear.

HIs smirk widened slightly. It had been a while since he’d fought for real.

Ace swung his pipe at him and he bent backwards to avoid it, rising back up when it had passed over him, still smirking.

He continued to duck, avoid, bend and dodge, the fact they weren’t hitting him clearly getting to them. Eventually, he grew bored and decided to retaliate.

He sidestepped a downward swing from the blonde boy and quickly stepped into his guard, surprising him as he grabbed the arm holding the pipe and delivered a swift blow to his sternum, pulling at his arm to follow up with a knee to the gut and an elbow to the face, before finally pulling the blonde over his shoulder in a throw.

Ace froze as he stared at his friend, giving him all the time he needed to kick the back of his knee and hit his stomach. Ace went down, breath knocked out of him.

He looked down at the older kids in veiled amusement.

“Next time you attack someone, don’t assume you’re stronger then them simply because you’re older or bigger,” he told them softly, smiling slightly at the glare Ace gave him. “There are always someone stronger than you. It doesn’t matter if they’ve just turned 10 or they’re in their 50ies. They’re out there and you need to prepare for when you meet them.” 

He watched Ace get up and glare at him.

“What are you doing here you jackass!? Come just to beat us up and lecture us, huh?!” he said angrily, making him raise an eyebrow.

“I am here because I like to explore the forest. It is pure coincidence that I found you and I only fought you because you attacked me first. Had you left me alone I would have done the same.”

He frowned at the two of them, the blonde now also up, though his face looked a little red.

“Why did you attack me anyway?”

The blonde rubbed the red area with a grimace.

“You’ve seen where we put our treasure. Can’t have anyone but us knowing that,” he mumbled, eyeing him apprehensively. “Are you that kid Garp brought? The one that’s been living with Ace these past three months?”

He raised an eyebrow.

“He’s told you about me?” he asked, giving Ace a slightly surprised look, even if he couldn’t see it.

The blonde nodded, the man behind him smiling fondly.

“He mostly complains about how you can actually enjoy the food because you don’t have to worry about it getting stolen.”

He snorted quietly.

“I almost took off someone’s hand the first time they tried. They haven’t since,” he gave him a thin smirk.

 _“My Prince!”_ he blinked, turning his entire body to look a Rouge, which clearly confused the two kids.

 **“What is it Rouge?”** he asked, the rattling sounds of the language of the Dead making both of the kids jump slightly.

Rouge opened her mouth to answer, but didn’t get a word out.

“Hey, I hear kids voices this way!”

Both living and dead turned to the gruff voice, Ace and the blonde looking panicked.

“Shit Sabo, it’s those guys I stole from!”

“What!? You stole from them?!” the blonde, Sabo apparently, hissed quietly.

He blinked and they were gone, making him blink again and wonder how the hell they did that.

“Oi, you!”

He turned, looking up at the white haired man standing behind him.

“Yes?”

The man narrowed his already narrow eyes even more.

“You seen two brats with blonde and black hair here recently?”

He cocked his head.

“Why do you want to know?” he asked, noting that this man was the only one of his group that didn’t have someone behind him. Sad.

“They stole from us,” was the answer.

He hummed, putting his hands in his pockets.

“Sorry, but I don’t know.”

He turned to leave, but was stopped by being lifted up and turned around to face the man.

“I know you’re lying, brat,” he sneered, eyes cold.

“Oh?” he challenged, eyebrow raised, “And, what are you going to do about that?”

The man’s grin wasn’t kind in any sense of the word.

* * *

 

“Why… aren't… you… SCREAMING?!” the man, Porchemy, yelled in frustration, once again punching him with spike cowered knuckles. 

He grinned slightly, spitting out some blood that had gathered in his mouth.

“I don’t feel pain,” he told him, making the hand about to punch him freeze mid swing. “Never been able to.”

Porchemy stared at him in shock, before fury took over his face.

“You little-!” he growled, taking hold of the rope binding him and pulling him to stare at his face.

He didn’t get further than that, because Ace and Sabo broke down the door and started beating him up.

He smiled slightly, allowing the Cloud to come out and burn through the ropes holding him, making him fall to the floor.

He stood up, eyes glowing, before putting his hands together and intertwined his fingers so that only his middle- and forefingers were pointing up.

“Ελευθέρωση,”(1) he said calmly, the sound of his voice making everyone present look at him.

The bracelets opened with a small ‘click’ falling off his wrists and to the floor, were his shadow swallowed them up. Everyone’s eyes widened when they saw the shadows move, and the smirk he gave them sent shivers down Porchemy’s spine.

He moved too quickly for them to react, his hand to Porchemy’s throat before they realised he was there.

“I’ve wanted to try this for a while now,” he murmured, black wisps coming out off his smirking mouth as his eyes glowed faintly.

His grip tightened.

**_“Decay.”_ **

Porchemy _screamed._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1) “Release,”


	4. Of Brothers Three and Emperors

He glanced behind him, raising an eyebrow at the ghostly figure of Rouge as she laughed silently.

“Might I ask why you are following me?”

It had been a few days since the squabble with Porchemy and the two boys would. Not. Stop. _Following him._  

It was getting annoying. 

He half expected them to immediately bolt in the other direction like they had every other time he'd called them out on their stalking, but that didn’t happen. Instead, Ace stepped out from behind the tree, frowning at him. 

“How do you always know where we are?” he asked, Sabo also coming out from behind the tree. 

He stared at them for a bit, wondering whether he should tell them, before realising they most likely wouldn’t leave him alone anyway.

So he sighed, sat down and motioned for them to do the same. He waited until they were sitting before answering the same way he had Shanks.

“The Dead follow us. Did you know?” they stiffened, their eyes going wide. “Those we loved or that loved us walk behind us, watching us live our lives and protecting us from ourselves. I can see them, talk to them as if they were still alive.” he told them, turning to Ace.

“Your mother stands behind you, her hair strawberry-blonde and set in waves with freckles dancing on her cheeks.”

He turned to Sabo.

“A man stands behind you, posture stiff like a guard’s and hair and eyes grey like his sword.”

They just stared at him.

Ace’s hands were shaking as they reached out and grabbed his hoodie.

“You’re lying!” he yelled, tears of anger in his eyes, “And even if you weren’t, nobody would…” he choked. “Nobody would be behind me.”

He didn’t say anything, merely reaching into the shadows and pulling out a black violin.

The boys stared at the instrument in confusion as he set it to his chin and began playing.

A beautiful melody started sounding in the clearing, the sound sad and caring at the same time as the dead perked up in eagerness.

“Look behind you,” he said softly halfway through the song, the two boys to enchanted with the song to argue.

Ace’s eyes grew wide as he looked up into the smiling face of a blonde woman with freckles.

“Mom…?” he asked, tears in his eyes as the woman reached out to place her hands near his cheeks.

 _“My beautiful boy,”_ she whispered, placing a ghostly kiss to his temple.

Sabo stared up at the man with wide eyes.

“Jackson…?”

The man smiled.

_“Hey there Sabo. Sorry I died.”_

He smiled at the crying kids.

* * *

 

Once again, when shown that he was not lying about the dead following them, the two boys attached themselves to him like barnacles to a ship. 

And once again, they didn’t constantly ask for him to let them see their loved ones, merely asking that he let them see and talk to them when they needed it the most.

Of course, Ace threw a bit of a hissy fit when he realised that his father, who he apparently hated, also came to watch over him sometime. He even asked him to make it impossible for Roger to come near him.

He was having none of that however, and as soon as he had the chance he tied Ace to a chair, made it so he could see the dead, and locked him in a room with his parents until he had sorted out his issues.

To his surprise (and hidden relief) it didn’t take a month like he had feared, but rather three days before Roger came out of the room with a big grin on his face and told him he could untie Ace now.

Many months passed after that, with him, Ace and Sabo fighting 100 fights daily, most of which he won, and at some point they shared a bottle of sake, which apparently made them sworn brothers. He even went one step further and shared blood with them, which made them brothers in the eyes of his home world.

This was when he both told them what he actually _was_ and showed them his face for the first time.

At first they had been sceptical, obviously, but once he showed them his face that scepticism went completely out the window and they believed him. When he asked why, their response made him laugh:

“There is no way in hell a face like that could possibly exist on a normal boy. You’re prettier than Makino for crying out loud!”

The years went by, with a small bump in the form of Sabo’s dad wanting him to marry some girl he’d never met and setting Grey Terminal on fire, but that resolved itself rather quickly when, after Ace told him Sabo had been shot down by something called a Celestial Dragon, he immediately told him Sabo wasn’t following them, which meant he wasn’t dead, which made him take off his bracelets and search the entire island from top to bottom and even a little beyond with Ace on his back until they found Sabo in the arms of the man who was his father in this world.

He ignored his father and went straight for Sabo, who clearly didn’t remember a damn thing, grabbed his head with a hand covered in Mist and both gently and quickly pulled Sabo’s memories back from his subconscious.

Even after regaining his memories Sabo decided to stay with the Revolutionary Army, the organisation his father Dragon ran, so that there was no chance of his parents ever finding him again.

At first Ace didn’t like it, but when he told him he could pretty much take him to visit Sabo whenever he wanted if Sabo wore a necklace with some of his powers stored in it, he agreed.

Then they left, leaving behind a confused band of revolutionaries and a happy Sabo now wearing a black diamond necklace.

And then came the day were he was waving goodbye to Ace, who also had a black diamond necklace around his throat, wishing him good luck on his journey with bright eyes the likes of which he hadn't had in ages and a grin that split his face.

He continued to train even after Ace left, getting stronger and stronger both in body and in soul, now finally having found peace with his Devil Fruit and making it a part of him as much as he was a part of it.

But of course, it wasn’t 18 months after Ace had left that he felt hands that weren’t his brother’s touching the necklace he had given him, making him jump through the shadow to his brother, who had apparently decided to challenge Whitebeard of all Emperors.

Why?

* * *

 

So now here he was, watching from the shadows of the infirmary on the Moby Dick as a nurse tried to pull Ace’s necklace off. 

“It won’t come off,” he said softly, making the woman jump and turn to him immediately.

“I… What-? Who?” normally he would have smiled at the way the woman stumbled to find her words, but normally his brother wasn’t lying on a hospital bed looking like he just had a fight with a sober Gabriel.

He frowned, stepping out and towering over the woman with a sneer.

“Why is my brother lying on a bed in the infirmary of an Emperor’s ship?” he growled, eyes glowing as he glared at her.

The woman’s mouth opened and closed, obviously trying to form words but not succeeding in the presence of a pissed off Demigod.

Seeing he wasn’t going to get any answers, he grabbed the woman’s head and none-to-gently ripped the information from her mind, making her stiffen and fall to the floor in a heap when he let go.

He snorted sightly as the information registered in his mind, walking over to Ace and placing a Cloud covered hand on his head.

“Foolish brother, attacking an Emperor when you can’t even beat me…” he mumbled, letting the Cloud wash through his brother and boost his healing.

His ears perked as he heard running footsteps, quickly taking his hand from his brother and hiding in the shadows near the door.

The door burst opened, revealing the forms of a blue eyed man whose hair made him look like a blonde pineapple, a small brunette wearing a green outfit that looked like it was made of bubbles, a black haired crossdresser and a man with a scar around his eye and a pompadour hairstyle.

“Lucy!” the small brunette cried out, running over to the unconscious nurse on the floor and gently taking her into his arms.

“Take her to Bay, yoi,” the blonde ordered, getting a nod from the brunette that started sprinting through the door.

The man with the pompadour walked over to Ace, making him sneer silently.

“The kid’s out so it wasn’t him,” he heard him mumble, watching him glance around the room with a frown. “Who was it then? There’s no one else here and no one’s seen or felt anyone else board the ship.”

“Not true, yoi,” the blonde said, his features set in a frown.

“What do you mean Marco?” the crossdresser asked, gun in hand and eyes sharp.

The blonde, Marco, turned to look at Ace.

“Ever since we took Fire Fist onboard, I’ve had this feeling that something was watching us whenever we went near him, yoi. It’s like there’s someone hanging over him, staring us down.”

He smirked, allowing his chuckle to sound throughout the room.

The two of the Pirates stiffened, the blonde maintaining a lazy expression as he looked around the room.

“So I was right, yoi?”

He laughed again, swiftly moving from one shadow to the other, the movement making the crossdresser point his gun at the spot he had been before.

“Not quite,” he mumbled, tilting his head in curiosity when the gun pointed straight at him. “I only came here a few minutes ago. Tell me, how did you know to come?”

The man with the pompadour grimaced, glaring slightly at him.

“Pops felt something happen to Lucy, something bad. He couldn’t tell what so he sent us to check it out.”

He chuckled again, walking in the shadow of the wall and the crossdresser’s gun following his every move.

“He wasn’t wrong,” he said, a small smile coming to his face at the three’s twitch. “The nurse will be lucky if she ever learns to talk again, let alone move.”

Rage appeared on the face of the pompadour.

“What did you do?!” he hissed in anger.

He smirked thinly.

“The mind is a fragile thing. You have to be careful when you mess with it, otherwise… well,” he shrugged, walking towards a lighter area of the shadow to let them see. “I rest my case.”

By now even the blonde looked angry, rage swimming in his eyes.

“And why would you mess with her mind in the first place, yoi?”

He smirked thinly, letting the shadows lighten to what they normally were and letting the pirates see him, his side to them and his eyes on his brother.

“I asked her a question,” he said, turning his head to look at them. “She didn’t answer, so I took her memories and ripped her mind to sherds in the process. She’s little more than a vegetable now, unless I go in and undo the damage within the next 10 hours.” 

The crossdresser fired. He sidestepped the bullet easily, slight smirk painting his lips.

“Then undo it,” he hissed.

He tilted his head, staring at the man.

“Hmm…. No,” he said, before letting the shadow swallow him again at the second shot and carry his laughter through the entire ship.

* * *

 

He hadn’t had this much fun in a while.

He smirked at the pirates running through the ship, watching them go onto the deck with rage on their faces. His eyebrows went up as he looked at the giant form of Whitebeard, who was sitting on a throne-like chair with angry eyes. 

“My sons,” he rumbled, looking down at the three. “What happened?”

Marco was the one who explained, the other two too angry to even speak.

“Lucy was out cold on the floor when we arrived, yoi,” he began, the crew around him all shifting with worry. “I sent Haruta to get her to Bay. Me, Thatch and Izo stayed for a bit, trying to find out what happened. Didn’t take long,” his hands curled into fists. “You know that feeling of being watched Fire Fist brought in, yoi?”

Whitebeard nodded, along with some of the other people on the deck.

“Well, apparently that’s because we _are_ being watched. At least, in some way,” Marco looked like he was getting a headache. “There was a guy, couldn’t tell his age, wearing a black hoodie and black pants. He kept to the shadows for a bit while we talked, until we asked him why he had hurt Lucy.” he grit his teeth, making him smirk.

“He said, with a smirk on his face like he had just pulled the best prank of the century and voice completely toneless, that he had asked her a question and she didn’t answer, so he just went into her head and ripped it out, destroying her mind in the process." 

The air around Whitebeard started to crack, the crew all shouting out in shock and anger, and the dead looked to his hiding place with glares on their faces.

“Can it be undone?” Whitebeard rumbled, his voice carrying over the crew effortlessly.

Marco frowned.

“He said he could undo it within the next 10 hours, but heavily implied that after that, it would be to late.”

Whitebeard stood up, eyes like a hurricane.

“Whoever you are, come out here and face me!”

He hummed lightly, letting the sound carry and everyone stiffen.

“Why should I?” he asked, tone flat and lifeless.

“Are you to much of a coward!?” one of the crew yelled, a man with a top hat and mustache.

“Coward?” he mused, calmly walking along the top of the sails and the disappearing into the shadows before anyone could get a good look at him. “No. I simply want to know why I should show myself. I don’t like to do things without a reason.”

“Oh yeah? Then what is your reason for destroying Lucy’s mind?!” someone yelled.

“I had no reason to destroy her mind,” he said calmly. “I had a reason to not be gentle about taking what I wanted to know.”

“And what is that?” Whitebeard rumbled, his eyes narrow.

He snarled, appearing in front of the man, eyes glowing and glaring at him. As one, the crew turned, weapons draw and pointed at him. 

“You hurt someone I care about,” he growled, shadows moving in his ire. “I just returned the favour.”

He caught the blade of the bisento between his hands, only sliding back about two feet before stopping, staring up at Whitebeard without fear.

“You are strong,” the Emperor acknowledge, pressing more weight on him. “But I did not hurt the young Fire Fist the way you hurt my daughter, so I’m afraid your reasoning is invalid.”

He growled, jumping away from the weapon and back into the shadows.

“I could have done much worse the rip apart her mind,” he said, sitting on the railing. “I could have just taken all of her memories, making her forget each and everyone of you.” he smirked thinly at their angry faces, amused despite the situation. He then tilted his head.

“Maybe I should do that. Repair her mind and then make her forget. What fun,” he let the shadows swallow him again, appearing next to his brother, who was on the verge of waking up.

“Ace,” he mumbled, shaking his brother gently. “Come on Ace, wake up.”

He sighed when all Ace did was turn over in his sleep, mumbling something about pancakes.

Well if he was going to be like that.

She let the Mist shift around her and leaned down to talk to him.

“Wake up you lazy bastard, or I’m gonna tell grandpa you’ve been slacking~!” she sing-songed, moving away when her brother shot up, eyes big with fright.

“I’m up, I’m up!” he yelled waving his arms about. “No need to tell Gramps Justine, I’m…” he trailed off, looking around him in bewilderment.

“Where am I?”

She sighed, sitting down at the end of the bed.

“You’re on the Moby Dick brother. You fought Whitebeard and lost.” she explained patiently, watching him blink slowly.

“Oh yeah… Wait a second, how do you know that?”

She shrugged, leaning back against her arms.

“I felt someone who wasn’t you touching your necklace, so I shadow traveled here. There was a nurse standing over you, and I wanted to know why you were here, so I took the information from her head.”

Ace paled slightly, looking faint.

“Justine, please, tell me you didn’t…”

“Of course I did,” she said with a smirk. “People’s reactions are always such fun.”

Ace buried his head in his hands, groaning.

“You destroyed the mind of one of Whitebeard’s daughters… For _fun._ ”

“I mostly did it because I wanted answers, but yeah, that to.”

Ace looked up at her with pleading eyes.

“Please, just… undo it?”

She huffed, pulling down her hood to frown at her brother.

“Oh alright. But first, you should probably come with me.”

Ace blinked.

“Why?”

She grinned sheepishly.

“I may or may not have made it seem like I was going to repair her mind and then erase her memories.”

Ace groaned.

“Justine…”

She laughed, taking ahold of his hand and shadow traveling back up to the deck, were everything suddenly stopped the minute they appeared.

She gave a two fingered salute, grinning from ear to ear as her brother lay groaning on the ground.

“Yo! So, where’s the chick I brain-fried?”

They just continued to stared at her, while Ace groaned and covered his face.

“Justine, could you please stop making it worse?”

She huffed, pout on her lips.

“What? It’s what I did, no need to sugarcoat it!”

The people around them slowly started moving again, the brunette from earlier carrying the brain-dead nurse.

“You’re… that guy?” he said cautiously, staring at her face.

She grinned.

“Yup! Now, let’s see…” she mumble, coating her hands in Mist and placing the on either side of the woman’s head, closing her eyes and entering her mind, though not before throwing a quick “Make sure they don’t kill me!” over her shoulder to her brother, who just groaned in response.

* * *

 

She finally opened her eyes again, taking note of the fact the sun was setting and there was someone poking her bracelets and talking. 

“... and how the hell is she able to do all that with these things on? Shouldn’t they stop her from using her Devil Fruit?”

“Never said they didn’t!” she said cheerfully, grinning when the guy yelped and fell on his ass when she talked, blinking stupidly at her.

She stood up, popping her back with a sigh and walking over to Whitebeard, whose eyes were following her.

She hooked a thumb at the nurse.

“Her mind is back in order, though it will take a few days for her to stop walking into things and talking to the air,” she told him, balancing on the balls of her feet. “So, whatcha do with my brother?”

Whitebeard raised an eyebrow, pointing toward the door leading to the lower levels.

“After he explained what and who you were he tried to kill me. My sons took him downstairs to cool off,” he told her, taking a swig of sake.

She hummed, pulling her hood back on and letting the Mist change him.

“I still don’t understand why he thinks he can kill you,” he said softly, his sudden gender change causing those around him to stiffen slightly and Whitebeard’s eyes to harden. “He still cannot beat me, what chance does he have against an Emperor?”

“Can’t beat you, yoi?”

He turned, locking eyes with Marco.

“Yes. Ace has yet to beat me in a spar, even after he got his Devil Fruit and while I was wearing these,” he told him, lifting up his arm to show the bracelets.

Marco’s eyes widened, going from the bracelets to him and back.

“You’re a Devil Fruit user…” he said in realisation, staring at him with wide eyes. “You’re a Devil Fruit user and yet you’re strong enough to stop Pops’ bisento with your bare hands while wearing Seastone."

The eyes of the crew widened and they turned to stare at him in disbelief, even Whitebeard looking impressed.

He just nodded, putting his hand back in his hoodie pocket.

“Like I said, if Ace can’t beat a Devil Fruit user wearing Seastone, then what chance does he have against an Emperor?”

“Justin, stop being mean to me~!”

He turned just in time to catch his clearly drunk brother, who then started sobbing on his chest as he tried to squeeze him to death.

He sighed, pushing Ace’s face away with a hand.

“Stop being an idiot and I will,” he said dryly, taking a deep breath once the sun disappeared behind the horizon. “I have to leave Ace. Makino is probably worrying herself sick.”

Ace seemed to sober up, just a little, and he released him and stood, staring down at him.

“You’ll come see me?” he asked, Rouge and Roger both giving him the evil eye and daring him to say no.

He sighed, reaching up to pat his brother’s head.

“From the looks I’m being giving, saying no would be a death sentence.”

Ace snorted, pulling him into a hug.

“Since when are you afraid of death?” he murmured into his hood, making him smile softly.

“Touché.”

Ace laughed, letting go of him and smiling.

“Take care. May the gods be with you and all that."

Now it was his turn to snort.

“May the gods be with you, big brother.”

He stepped into the shadows, the sound of Ace cheering becoming faint in his ears.

“May the gods be with you…” he murmured, staring out at the sea from the cliff he now stood on, watching the moon move into the sky slowly.


	5. Of Passing Years and Setting Sails

To his immense surprise, the next time he appeared on the Moby Dick, it wasn’t because Ace had finally had enough of his failed assassination attempts and wanted to leave. No, it was because he had decided to take Whitebeard up on his offer to become his son and he wanted his brother to get to know his new family. This time without the threat of brain-frying.

There was of course some tension, none of the Whitebeard Pirates having forgotten what he had done to their sister, but when said sister walked up to him and said she understood why he had done it, forgiving him, there wasn’t much reason for them not to do the same, apparently.

The resulting party was a blast, at least until she collapsed on the deck with a groan of pain and had to be taken to the infirmary, where she stayed for two days before she was finally able to move again through the pain coming from her abdomen.

The pirates were slightly confused, since apparently Ace had told them she couldn’t feel pain, but had neglected to tell them of the drawbacks of that particular ability. Namely the fact that once a month she was forcefully turned into a girl and had to experience every spec of pain she should have felt that month in the form of period cramps.

Needless to say she had the sympathy of every woman on the ship once they heard that. Especially when she told them pain medicine just made it worse, as she had found out the third time it had happened. (It was also then that she cheerfully told them about the _first_ time she had had her period, were thirteen years of pain got crammed into one week and slammed into her with no warning what-so-ever. That had **_not_** been fun.)

Anyway, she stayed on the ship the remaining five days, since for some reason she never really understood she couldn’t use her power over the shadows at all when she was on her period. Annoying, but oh well. During these five days, she was questioned left and right and to the side about how the hell she could do what she could do when she was constantly wearing Seastone bracelets and had quite clearly said they did indeed work.

She didn’t know why they kept asking either, because she always answered honestly. It was like they didn’t believe her or something!

Even though staying on the Moby Dick was a lot of fun, as soon as those five days were over she was back on Dawn Island, letting Makino fuss over him to help calm her down.

The next two years mostly consistent of training, visiting Ace on the Moby Dick and helping him prank his new family, visiting Sabo in the Revolutionary Army and confusing it’s members with his casual display of not-giving-a-fuck-about-people-not-his-brother, scaring Shanks by randomly popping up on his ship as a girl, and generally being a bit of a nuisance to almost everyone he knew.

But then came the day he waved goodbye to the island he had grown up on, a small smile on his face. And of course the Lord of the Coast came to try and eat him to.

He punched it in the nose and kept sailing, leaving behind a very beat up Sea King and a cheering crowd.

* * *

 

His Mist shrouded him as he boarded the ship, letting it shield him from the eyes of others.

It would seem he had stumbled upon a cruise ship being raided by some pirates. What fun.

A smirk danced on his lips as he moved further into the ship, tilting his head curiously when he reached an open door, pushing it aside with ease. 

There were four people in the room, three of them grown men pointing swords at the fourth person, a short boy with pink hair and blue glasses. He was also shaking uncontrollably, his hands covering his head.

He frowned, releasing his Mist.

“Excuse me,” he said softly, withholding a smirk when they all jumped and turned to him. “Could you tell me where I am? I seem to have gotten lost.”

They just continued to stare at him, though he couldn’t really blame them. If a pale boy wearing a black hoodie, dark blue pants and dark shoes, where the only thing you could see of his face was his mouth had just appeared in a room and asked him for directions in a monotone, he would probably have started staring too.

At least, if he had been normal. As it was now he’d probably just say ‘How do you do?’ and help him, but anyway.

He stared right back at them, waiting for a response.

“Y-You,” he turned to the boy. “Y-You’re on a ship being raided by the Alvida Pirates, S-Sir.”

He hummed, tilting his head.

“The Alvida Pirates? Never heard of them,” he gave the boy a small, thin smile before turning to the three pirates. “So, you’re raiding the ship?”

One of them grinned.

“Yep! And you’re about to learn why coming here was a mistake!”

He just smirked thinly, rolling his shoulders. 

“Please, enlighten me.”

His smirk widened slightly as one of them charged.

Idiots. Always so amusing.

* * *

 

He looked down at the pink haired boy, Coby, with amusement, listening to the story of how he became the cabin boy for the pirate Alvida.

Apparently he had jumped in the wrong boat when he wanted to go fishing and hadn’t been able to leave.

“What about you Justin-san? Why are you here?”

He chewed his apple thoughtfully, swallowing.

“I’m going to gather a crew and find the One Piece,” he answered, watching with curiosity as Coby immediately went paler than him.

“Y-You’re a Pirate!?” he shrieked, fear on his face.

He nodded, taking another bite of his apple.

“Yes. I plan on becoming Pirate King.”

Coby gaped at him, before he started screaming about his dream being “Impossible!”

He frowned, lightly hitting the boy on the head.

“I don’t care if it’s supposedly ‘Impossible’ I’m still gonna try. It’s my dream and I plan on achieving it, and if I don’t, then I can die saying I gave it my very best shot.”

He gave Coby a small smile.

“You have a dream, don’t you Coby?” he asked softly, looking at the transparent couple standing behind the boy, both of them giving him a fond smile.

Coby hesitated, before nodding.

“I… I want to be a Marine,” he mumble, shifting his feet.

She stared at him, the Mist twisting again, before smiling.

“You’d make a great Marine.”

You really think so?... Wait a second, why do you sound like a-?!” Coby finally looked up from the floor and gaped when he saw the two bumps on her chest.

“Like a girl?” she asked raising an eyebrow. “That’s simple really. Right now, I am a girl,” she smirked, pulling down her hood and letting her somewhat long hair frame her face.

She grinned at Coby’s dumbfounded look, though in all honesty if she had been in his position she would have done the same. Seeing someone who had clearly been a boy before suddenly turn into a girl isn’t exactly normal.

“Bu- How-? What is- Huh?!” she laughed, taking another bite of her apple to calm herself down.

“It’s something I’ve always been able to do. Call me Justine when I’m like this please,” Coby didn’t get to say anything because at that moment, the ceiling broke and she had to grab Coby and pull him out of the way of the falling wood.

“Coby!”

She looked up, her eyebrows becoming one with her fringe as she laid eyes on the fattest woman she had ever seen. Seriously, she looked like a baby whale.

Coby squeaked

“A-Alvida-sama!” he yelled, scrambling to get up.

The lady looked at her, eyes narrow.

“You don’t look like Pirate Hunter Zoro,” she mused, eyeing her, before turning to glare at the three pirates she had beat up. “And I thought it was a guy who had beat you up, not a girl!”

The three trembled and she decided to mess with them a bit, pulling her hood back on and making the Mist change him.

“It would seem you are in need of glasses Miss,” he said softly, smirking slightly as everyone did a double take at seeing him, now a guy. “I am clearly a male.”

The woman’s face turned a very unflattering shade of red before she glared at Coby.

“Coby!” she yelled, making the boy jump. “Who is the most beautiful woman in all the seas?”

Coby started stuttering out a reply, before he glanced at him and stealed himself. 

“Definitely not you, you fat ugly hag! Justin was ten times prettier than you when he was a girl!”

He smirked thinly at Coby.

“Flattering,” the boy’s blush amused him.

“YOU BRAT~!” Alvida yelled, swinging her iron club to hit Coby.

He frowned, commanding the shadows to swallow both him and Coby and move them to the deck.

He smirked slightly at the charging group of pirates.

A fight. What fun.

* * *

 

His fist collided with Alvida’s stomach, sending her flying into the distance with a small smirk on his face. 

He always did enjoy doing that.

He turned, giving Coby a Look he couldn't see.

“We need to leave,” he told him calmly, walking away from the groaning pile of bodies he had left behind.

It took a bit of doing, but eventually he got Coby in a boat and convinced him to sail to the closest island with a Marine base so at he could inlist.

And apparently the same guy Alvida had thought he was, Roronoa Zoro, was at the Marine base too. Maybe he should ask him to join his crew, he sounded like he would be fun to have around.

They sailed for a bit, Coby finally asking how he had turned into a girl and getting just as vague an answer as before:

“If you are curious enough, you can learn many things that others would call impossible. My ability to change my gender is simply one such thing.”

They didn’t talk after that, not until they were docked at the island and were walking through the streets, talking about the Marines on the base and Roronoa Zoro. Strangely, when they said those names, everyone around them jumped in fright, even the dead looking slightly afraid.

It didn’t take long for them to reach the base, with him quickly finding Zoro tied up in the courtyard and studying both the man and the small girl sitting on one of the poles his arms were tied to. The dark haired girl had looked at him with big blue eyes, silently asking him to help.

He gave a small nod, but didn’t get to do more before the top of a latter appeared on the wall next to him and Coby, and a little girl climbed up, shused them and jumped into the courtyard, running up to Zoro and offering him some rice balls, her transparent father hovering protectively over her shoulder and glaring at Zoro.

He watched as a young man with blonde hair, a purple suit and a shitty attitude walked over to the two, stole one of the rice balls and complained about them being sweet instead of salty, stamped on them and then ordered a reluctant marine to throw the girl over the wall.

The man did as asked, and he quickly jumped up and caught the girl before she could hit the ground, gently giving her to Coby and telling him to take her home. The boy did as he asked, shooting him a slightly concerned look as they left.

The purple kid taunted Zoro for a bit before leaving, giving him the chance to jump down and talk to the bounty hunter.

They talked for a bit, Zoro’s responses to his subtle taunting causing him no end of amusement and his Devil Fruit growled happily as he quickly decided Zoro would be joining his crew, even if the man himself didn’t know it yet. This decision was reached when, as he was turning to leave, Zoro asked him to give him the crushed rice balls and tell the little girl they were delicious. He agreed with amusement.

The girl had been thrilled when he delivered Zoro’s message, a question from Coby prompting her to tell them the story of _how_ Zoro got in his current predicament. He could see Coby’s black and white view of the world wavering as Rika told them about Captain Morgan, the man that ran the Marine base on the island.

His resolve to get Zoro on his crew only strengthened with the story.

Then the purple brat, Helmeppo, waltzed into the restaurant like he owned the place and started bragging about how he was going to execute Zoro the following day because “He had grown bored of this little game.”

Now, while he wasn’t his sister and didn’t immediately feel mortally offended every time someone broke a promise they had made, no matter how small, that didn’t mean he was fine with it and as soon as his brain registered what was being said, he was on his feet and punching the spoiled brat hard enough to break his nose.

He wasn’t bothered by the guns now pointed at him, his glowing eyes glaring down at the brat at his feet.

Apparently the sight of glowing eyes was enough to scare the brat, because he scrambled up and ran out of the restaurant, his yells of “Wait till I tell my Daddy!” making him snort quietly, because if he hadn’t noticed the guy’s likeness to the blonde brat Anastasia liked to complain about before, he certainly would have after that line.

He calmed down, putting his hands back in his hoodie, only pulling one of them out to ruffle Rika’s hair when he passed her.

“Don’t worry Rika,” he told her softly, smilling slightly. “I’ll get Zoro out of this mess.”

Then he walked out, determination burning in his eyes.

Zoro would be His. Of that, he was certain.


	6. Of First Fights and Exploding Towns

“You again,” the teen said gruffly, staring at him with disdain. “Don’t you have someone else to bother?”

He smirked thinly.

“Not really,” he said smoothly. “But that’s not why I’m here.”

The teen frowned.

“The spoiled brat from earlier plans to execute you tomorrow,” he began, making the teen jerk and the transparent girl standing next to him grit her teeth. “He has no intention of honoring his agreement with you. I plan on getting your swords for you and have you join my crew.” he cocked his head, an almost invisible smirk on his face as the guy scoffed.

“I told you before kid, I’m not becoming a pirate,” he growled, glaring to try and hide the uncertainty in his eyes.

He shrugged, beginning to walk towards the base.

“And I told you that being a pirate means being free, didn’t I?”

He could feel the teen’s gaze boring into his back.

* * *

 

He searched the base for some time, sticking to the shadows or shrouding himself in his Mist, looking for the swords the girl had said Zoro used to fight. While he didn’t find the swords, he did find the spoiled brat and the Captain of the base, who also happened to be his father.

He ignored the father, grabbing the brat and dragging him through the shadows to somewhere in the base.

It didn’t take long for the brat to tell him where he had put Zoro’s swords and get him to take him there. His first thought when he entered the brat’s room was:

_‘This guy is way to fond of pink to be straight.’_

While he knew not all homosexuals followed the stereotype of being ‘girly’ (Just look at Gabriel) this was pretty much a no-brainer.

He quickly knocked the brat out and grabbed the swords, putting them in his shadow so he wouldn’t lose them.

Sounds of yelling made him turn his head and walk to the window. He looked out, spotting Zoro (Blinking slightly in surprise when he noticed Coby was also there) and a small group of Marines, Captain included, pointing their guns at the two and preparing to fire.

He frowned, quickly placing his foot on the window sill and pushing off, shooting towards the ground. He landed just as Morgan yelled “Fire!” his body in the way of the bullets.

He stood up from his crouched position, taking his hands out of the shadows and bringing his favorite weapons with him.

The sound of metal hitting metal echoed through the courtyard as he deflected the bullets with little effort, not letting a single one hit either him or the two behind him. Though quite a few of them hit the ones that had fired them in the first place.

Soon the bullets stopped coming and he relaxed slightly, bringing his arms down and loosely gripping the two beautiful weapons in his hands.

He stared at the gaping Marine for a bit before turning around, crouching slightly as he walked to pull the three swords out of the shadows and hold them out to Zoro with a small smirk.

“These are yours I presume?” he asked, watching Zoro shake out of his stupor and stare at him.

“You’re a swordsman,” he stated, glancing at the two katana resting at his side curiously.

His face became blank, glancing at them as well. The twin swords had always been his favourites, a gift from his Mother not long after he had eaten his Devil Fruit. 

Their blades were a deep midnight black, the light reflecting off the metal effortlessly, and they were completely identical in every way except for the color of the guards and hilts and the symbols covering the blades. One’s hilt was pure white mixed with deep blue, the guard gold and silver symbols going down the length of the blade. The other’s hilt was pitch black mixed with rich purple, the guard silver and gold symbols going down the blade.

They were beautiful and he felt honored that they had allowed him to wield them.

“I am,” he said, glancing back up at the bounty hunter. “But I have no interest in the title ‘World’s Greatest Swordsman’. My dream is to become the King of the Pirates, nothing more, nothing less.”

His thin smirk returned, holding the swords out. 

“What’s it gonna be, Roronoa Zoro? Will you get shot here or will you follow me on my journey?”

The bounty hunter stared at him in disbelief, before throwing his head back and laughing.

“You’re the son of the devil! Fine, I’ll join your crew! Better to be a Pirate than to die like this!”

He smirked viciously, matching the grin on Zoro’s and the girl’s faces with ease.

“Then shall we?” Zoro flexed his now free arms, taking the offered swords with a grin as he turned to the Marines he had gestured to with his hand, his own black blades once again in his hands.

“Let’s.”

They charged, Zoro taking on the soldiers and Justin going for the Captain who had ordered his men to kill themselves while him and his First Mate were talking.

The man looked furious as he tried to cut him in two with his axe-hand, which he blocked easily with one of his swords.

“You dare attack me!? I am Axe-Hand Morgan, a Captain of the Marines!”

His face remained devoid of emotions, sidestepping the downward swing.

“I’m Justin,” he replied in a monotone, eyes glowing faintly. “And I think it’s time you stopped underestimating me.”

With those words, he got serious. He swung at Morgan’s shoulder, following up the expected block with another another swing to the stomach, which was barely blocked.

He swung, blocked, twirled and stabbed, the Marine Captain barely able to keep up with the fast paced way he fought. Soon the man was covered in cuts and blood, panting harshly while he was barely winded.

“Stop right there!”

He ignored the yell, stabbing the man in the thigh and making him fall with a shout. He took the chance, letting his swords dissolve into the shadows again and grabbing the man’s head with both hands, pulling his head down to slam it into his rising knee repeatedly.

“Oi, I said stop!”

“Captain.”

He stopped when he heard Zoro’s calm voice, letting the man he was holding fall to the ground as he let go and turned around.

There was the spoiled brat, pointing a shaking gun at Coby.

“I-If you move, I’ll shoot!” the brat yelled, gun shaking even more now that he had his attention.

“Justin-san!” he looked at Coby, the boy shaking almost as much as the gun pointed at him, but there was a resolve in his eyes that made his lips quirk. “I won’t interfere with your dream, even if I have to die!”

His lips spread in a small smirk, the two people standing behind the boy both smiling proudly at their son.

“You heard him,” he said, the shadows moving ominously. “Go ahead.”

The gun shook even more.

“Justin-san, look out!”

He ignored the man standing up behind him, focusing on Coby.

“Φέρτε τον σε μένα,” (1) he whispered, the shadows moving to obey his command.

“I am the Marine Captain Axe Hand Morgan!”

He listened to the sounds of flesh getting sliced, a gun getting fired and the screaming of someone whose shadow had just swallowed them.

Not long after Coby appeared from his shadow, eyes wide and mouth open in a silent scream.

He winced slightly, crouching down to put a hand on his head.

“I apologise Coby,” he mumble, the boy blinking stupidly as him gently removed the memorise of what he had seen. “I have a habit of forgetting what seeing the Shadow Realm does to people without me there to buffer the experience.”

Coby’s eyes closed as he slumped forward in sleep, prompting him to catch the boy and stand up, carrying him bridal style.

“You know,” he looked at Zoro, who had come over to stand near him. “I never got your name.”

He hummed, watching the Marines throw their weapons in the air and cheer, now finally free from Morgan’s tyranny.

“It’s Justin,” he said, smirking thinly. “Monkey D. Justin.”

Zoro hummed, before collapsing on the floor with a groan of “So hungry…”

He laughed quietly.

* * *

He smiled at Zoro, quietly eating the meal Ririka, Rika’s mother, had given him, amused by the way his First Mate ate his food in a way that reminded him of the bandits. With no manners at all. 

“So Justin,” Zoro said, who had finally finished eating and was now looking at him curiously. “How many are on our crew?”

He hid his smirk behind his bowl.

“Just us two at the moment,” he replied, amusement growing at Zoro spit-take.

“HUH?! It’s just us?!”

He laughed quietly, setting his bowl down.

“Yes Zoro, it’s just us. You do realise that gathering a crew isn’t something that just happens overnight, right? Everybody starts somewhere, and for me, that’s here.”

Zoro stared at him, before sitting down and grumbling with a small blush.

“I guess…”

The peaceful atmosphere didn’t last however, as three Marines soon walked through the door and asked (Read: Told) them to leave because ‘They were pirates’. 

So while the entire village protested, he was calmly asking Ririka if they could spare some food for them. They could, and him and Zoro was soon sitting in the small boat him and Coby had arrived in, watching with amusement as they were saluted by Marines.

“I think that’s the first time I’ve ever seen Marines salute a Pirate,” Zoro mumbled, glancing at him with a grin. “So, where’re we going?”

He hummed, shifting slightly to stare down at the little girl sitting next to Zoro.

“We’re going where we’re going,” he said, looking out at the sea. “I only know a little about navigation, but I have a feeling the sea will take us where we need to go next.”

Zoro gave him a confused look, while the girl smiled.

“Huh?”

He laughed.

They sailed for a while, with Zoro continuously trying to get him to explain what he meant, before he gave up and asked him something else.

“So, how’d you know I want to be the World’s Greatest Swordsman?”

He looked at the teen with a blank face.

“Your friend told me.”

Zoro blinked.

“My… friend?”

He nodded, leaning back.

“The Dead follow us. Did you know?”

The way people’s eyes widened when he said that would never get old.

* * *

They sailed for about a day, with most of it spent with him watching Zoro interact with the dark haired girl, Kuina, who he had apparently been rivals with back when they were kids. 

It took a bit for Zoro to believe him after he had told him, glaring angrily as he ‘lied’ about Kuina sitting next to him, until he grew tired of his yelling and pinned him to the boat and made it so he could see for himself.

Zoro had stared at the transparent girl for what seemed like hours, before his eyes started getting misty and Justin politely went into the Shadow Realm to give the two some privacy. It was about two hours later when he heard Kuina call him back and Zoro crushed him in a hug the moment he appeared.

If it hadn’t been for his superior hearing he would have never heard the whispered “Thank you.” Zoro uttered when he let go of him. He didn’t say anything, merely smiled softly at the two and started rowing with the waves, moving the boat faster.

He listened with half an ear to their conversation, trying to give them as much privacy as he could while sitting literally next to them. Eventually the temporary ability he had given Zoro faded when the energy he had put into it ran out and he didn’t give it more. Zoro didn’t ask him to either, merely taking the oars from him and rowing himself, silent gratitude coming from his form.

They eventually came upon three people in the water, letting them climb on their boat where they told them that an orange haired girl had taken their ship and then trying to take theirs.

He was not amused. 

The little confrontation ended with the three pirates rowing their boat for them, completely traumatized from the little trip he had sent them on through the Shadow Realm. Zoro wisely hadn’t asked.

It wasn’t long before they hit solid ground and were walking through the street of a small town called Orange Town, where him and Zoro somehow got split up and he ended up coming upon a girl getting chased by some pirates. At first he had intended to ignore it, it wasn’t his problem, but then the girl called him ‘Boss’ and suddenly  _he_ was the one getting attacked.

He just sighed and beat the idiots up. And then the girl had tried to manipulate him into teaming up with her, with who he presumed was her mother shaking her head behind her.

He declined and walked away, mostly humoring her when she followed him to try and convince him otherwise. He found Zoro not long after, who smirked at him and asked him if he’d gotten lost. He stared at his fellow swordsman flatly and with a voice to match his face told him it was  _Zoro_ who had been following  _him_ and not the other way around, so if anyone had gotten lost, it was him.

Before Zoro could respond however, a deafening explosion rocked the town and the three of them watched as a quarter of the town was destroyed.

The girl was shocked, Zoro was surprised and Justin was wondering if killing the guy who had fired the cannon would make the dead stop screaming at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1) “Bring him to me,”


	7. Of Zoro's View and Dead Mothers

There was something… off, about Justin.

It wasn’t the way he kept the upper part of his face hidden under a hood. It wasn’t that he was apparently strong enough to bring down an entire building with one punch. It wasn’t even the fact that he could see and speak with the dead.

No, Zoro mused, staring at his Captain as he fought Buggy the Clown with his beautiful twin katana, what was off was the fact that Justin never seemed to show any emotions.

Oh sure, he sometimes smiled or smirked or laughed, but those moments were so quiet or small that they almost seemed non-existent. He talked in a monotone, that same flat, lifeless tone of voice all the time and what he could see of his face was almost always blank and unmoving except for when he talked.

He was impossible to read, and Zoro got the feeling that that wouldn’t change even if the guy pulled down his hood and showed his face. His sometimes glowing eyes gave nothing away either, not even his eye colour, since he seriously doubted the guy had pure white eyes.

Even now, when he was exchanging blows with someone who claimed to have sailed the Grand Line, his face remained blank and his movements unhindered despite the wound in his shoulder no doubt causing him pain.

And while it _was_ impressive that he had such complete control over his emotions, it was also slightly creepy. Seriously, no one should be able to remain so impassive while delivering some of the best veiled insults he had ever heard, especially when the one he was insulting could break off his own body parts and make them float around.

Devil Fruits were fucking weird. 

Suddenly Justin’s swords disappeared into black smoke and he started fighting the guy with his body instead of his weapons. Not that it mattered much from what he could see.

Justin was like a weapon himself, punching and kicking at the clown fast and hard, bending in absurd ways to avoid flying body parts and jumping in the air to land a drop-kick that shattered the ground. At some point the orange haired girl, Nami, somehow got ahold of most of the clowns body and tied it up, leaving the guy with only his hands, feet and head.

He swore he saw a Justin’s lips twitch before it disappeared and he kicked the guy so hard he disappeared into the horizon in a small twinkle.

The hoodie wearing kid then turned to Buggy’s crew and gave them a Look that, unseen as it was, spoke volumes about what was going to happen if they stayed. He didn’t think he’d ever seen someone run that fast before.

His Captain put his hands in his pockets and turned to him, and he immediately felt the guy’s eyes zero in on the stab wound he had gotten in his fight with the annoying acrobat.

Justin didn’t say anything, just turned to the girl.

“Do you have any bandages?” he asked, his voice toneless as ever.

The girl nodded, two bags of what she said was treasure beside her. “Yeah, I have some on my boat.”

Justin nodded back before he cocked his head like he was listening for something.

“We should go,” he told them, grabbing one of the bags with his injured arm and hoisting it over his shoulder like it was nothing. “The townspeople are gonna be here any minute and I doubt they will be all that nice to us once they see that.” he pointed at the unconscious Mayor, who Justin had grabbed as soon as they arrived and had done something to him that involved lighting his hand up in indigo flames that somehow made the mayor fall asleep.

He really needed to ask him about that, but for now, the three of them ran towards were the girl’s ship was docked and jumped on it just in time to avoid the angry townspeople and hear the Mayor’s tearful thank you to them.

“Wait a second, where’s the other bag?!”

He turned to look at the girl, raising an eyebrow when he saw her standing over Justin.

Justin looked up at the girl from where he was looking for bandages.

“I left it in the town,” he said, standing up as he had found what he was looking for. Now the girl just looked ridiculous, since she was still trying to stand over Justin, who was almost as tall as Zoro, with his nose going to Zoro’s chin, and the girl was at least a head shorter than him, so it didn’t really work.

A vein became visible on the girl’s forehead.

“You _what_?!” she screeched, glaring at his Captain as he walked over to Zoro and lifted up his shirt, ignoring the swordsman’s sputtering completely.

“You heard me,” he responded, wrapping the bandage around Zoro’s abdomen. “I left it behind. Buggy and his crew no doubt stole all the town's money, so I gave it back.”

The girl paused in her path to punch the black clad teen in the head, looking at him strangely.

“But… you’re a Pirate! Why would you do something so… so…”

“Nice?” he finished for her, tying a knot on the bandage. “That’s simple. I didn’t become a Pirate to steal and kill. I became a Pirate to be free.” he stood up again, turning to look at the girl. “Not all pirates are the same Nami. Just like not all Fishmen are evil because of the actions of a few.”

Now the girl had completely frozen, staring at Justin with wide eyes as he laid down on the boat him and Zoro had arrived in, which was tied to Nami’s boat.

“I’m going to sleep.” he announced, going quiet immediately after the words were out of his mouth.

Zoro looked at the girl, who was still gaping at Justin.

“Don’t worry,” he said gruffly, preparing to take a nap as well. “He did that to me too.”

Nami just continued to stare.

* * *

She blinked her eyes open, slightly surprised she had changed while she was asleep but quickly brushing it off and getting up. It wasn’t like it was the first time it had happened, it was just uncommon for it to do so.

She glanced around, noting that both Zoro and Nami were asleep, and decided to let them be, instead looking out at the sea, pulling her hood down to let the wind play with her hair.

Things were quiet for a while, Zoro’s soft snores and the sounds of her playing with the water the only noise besides the waves that could be heard.

She perked up when she heard Nami get up, smirking slightly as she decided to mess with her.

“Eh? You’re up Justin?”

She hummed, smirk growing.

“Yes, I woke up a bit ago.”

She heard Nami stop and slowly turn to her.

“Why do you sound like a girl?” she said suspiciously, no doubt expecting her change in voice to be some sort of prank. Well, technically it was, but that was just a bonus.

She hummed again, turning so her back was resting against the edge of the boat, smirk still in place as she crossed her arms under her breasts and rejoiced in Nami’s dumbfounded expression.

“That’s because I am a girl Nami.” she said teasingly, quickly putting her hands over her ears as Nami screeched loudly and landed hard on her arse on the boat. The loud sound woke up Zoro, who immediately drew his swords and stood up, looking around for threats. Then his eyes landed on her and he froze, eyes going wide.

She simply grinned and waved cheekily at them.

“Call me Justine when I’m like this please.” 

What followed was a long series of laughing (From her), cursing (From Zoro), and angry screeching (From Nami), before the two finally calmed down and let her (Sorta) explain. The fact he turned back into a boy after a bit helped convince them it was really him as well, even if they clearly still had a bit of trouble wrapping their heads around the concept of someone changing gender without even realising it.

That was when Nami asked him why he hadn’t bandaged up himself and for the first time he let what he was feeling show on his face and in his voice as he announced his confusion on why he would need to.

They stared at him, before Nami pointed at his shoulder and made him look. He gave a small “Oh,” when he saw the stab wound, before shrugging and asking for a bandage. Zoro handed him one and he quickly went into the Shadow Realm to bandage the wound and get a new hoodie.

When he returned Zoro was sleeping and Nami was looking at a map. He didn’t say anything, merely studying the girl with a thief's mind and a heart of gold.

“Nami,” he finally said, watching her jump with slight amusement.

She huffed, glaring at him. “Finally back?”

He didn’t say anything, walking over to stand in front of her, staring down at her. She stared back defiantly for a while, before the weight of his stare became to much for and she looked away.

“What do you want?” she grumbled, amusing him.

He smirked slightly.

“To ask you something,” he told her, making her look up at him again. He cocked his head. “Join my crew.”

She blinked, her eyes going wide before turning cold as she snorted.

“I would never become a Pirate,” she sneered, eyes haunted and her mother looking at her with sadness.

He raised an eyebrow she couldn’t see it.

“Not even to be free?”

She stared up at him for a long time, looking back at the map in her hands when Zoro started waking up.

They sailed for a time, arriving on an island with a small village were they may be able to buy a ship.

He smiled slightly as he spotted a fondly exasperated Banchina looking up at of the cliffs surrounding them.

“You might as well come out Usopp,” he said smoothly, ignoring the looks he got from Zoro and Nami as he looked at where he knew Yasopp’s son was hiding. “I know you’re there.”

The confused and slightly terrified look on Banchina and Yasopp’s son amused him greatly.

“H-How did you know I was there?” the boy stuttered, trying to look brave even as his knee clinked together.

He cocked his head.

“Your mother told me.”

The kid fainted.

* * *

“Wait a second, you can see the dead!?”

He looked at Nami with hidden disbelief.

“You have seen me make a man fall asleep with a hand covered in indigo flames, pull things in and out of my shadow, hit a man so hard he went flying several miles, disappeared into the shadows, not even notice I was wounded and turn into a girl and back, yet you’re surprised I can see the dead?” all of this said without once changing his tone.

Nami’s mouth opened and closed a few times as Usopp and his little ‘crew’ gaped at him, before she closed her mouth fully and silently conceded to his point.

He turned to look at Usopp again, having woken him up as soon as they had gotten up to the cliff he had been standing on ann not-so-subtly asked him to take them to a place where they could get food and he would answer Usopp’s questions.

“But yes, I can see the dead. Which means I can see your mother, Usopp.” the kid looked like he was torn between being happy his mom was still with him in some way, and being confused as to _why_ she was there.

“But, why would she still be here? Shouldn’t she be in heaven?”

He hummed, contemplating telling him heaven didn’t actually exist but deciding against it, choosing to pretend like he hadn’t heard the second question at all.

“The Dead follow us. Did you know?” he asked the question he always started with when explaining this particular phenomenon. “From the moment we are born to the day we died, there is always someone who have left this world walking behind us, protecting us from our own mind. It doesn’t matter if the person have never met you before, if they have heard you were going to come and decided they love you, then they will follow.” he leaned back in his chair, his Mist preventing anyone but those he wanted to from hearing the conversation. “Sometimes it changes who follows you, because I have seen many children who used to have an old man or woman walking behind them suddenly have their newly departed parents or siblings walking behind them after they had died.” he glanced at them. “It may sound sad but that is how it is. Once you died you follow behind those you were close to until they themselves die or someone else comes to take your place. Only then will you be able peacefully cross over. 

He stopped talking, letting everyone absorbe what he had told them. Well, most of them. He had long ago decided he wanted Usopp on his crew, which meant it was okay for him to know about the unseen world around him, but the three kids couldn’t.

 

Which was why he was carefully constructing a Mist powered mechanism in their minds that would make them forget everything he had told them about the world of the Dead as soon as him and his crew were off the island. Just to be safe he was also making one in Usopp and Nami’s minds, since he still didn’t know if they were really on his crew, though these could only be activate by himself or if they were about to spill the beans to someone they shouldn’t. He would have to warn them about that once they were truly on his crew, but for now his failsafes would remain hidden.

On a second thought he made one in Zoro too, though this one only had the ‘Activate by blabbering’ switch, not the manual one.

 

He was brought out of his mind meddling by Usopp’s voice.

“Can I see her?”

He looked at Usopp’s hopeful face before looking around to see if Banchina was still there. When he didn’t see her he shook his head, making Usopp slump forward.

“I’m afraid she isn’t here right now,” he said, looking at Usopp’s quietly shaking form. “But once she returns I will let you see her.”

Usopp’s head jerked up so fast he was surprised he didn’t get whiplash, his eyes bright with unshed tears.

“R-Really?” he whispered, trying to dry his eyes and only succeeding in making the tears fall.

He smiled softly at the kid.

“Yes Usopp, really. Right now she is just watching over your father, but she will return at some point.”

He wasn’t quite prepared for the armful of crying teenager his response gave him, but hey, he had always been good at going with the flow.

His surprise wasn’t quite enough to make him miss the look Nami was giving him however, and he started preparing himself for the inevitable questioning he would undoubtedly go through as soon as Usopp wasn’t sobbing thank you's into his chest anymore.

This was going to be a long day.


	8. Of Old Friends and New Flags

She smiled at Usopp and Banchina from her place on Merry’s helm, glad she finally got to show Usopp that his mother never left.

A lot had happened after Usopp’s little breakdown in the restaurant, chief among them meeting Kaya (Usopp’s rich and depressed friend) and discovering that Klahador (said rich and depressed friend’s butler) was actually a pirate named Captain Kuro, the Captain of the Black Cat Pirates.

What followed had been a long fight between her crew and Kuro’s crew (though she has been a guy at the time so it was technically _his_ crew, not her, but anyway) in which Usopp got cut up by Kuro’s sword-gloves, Zoro fought against two cat-boys, Kaya and Usopp’s crew fled into the forest to hide, Zoro and Usopp beat a hypnotist name Jango who was trying to kill Kaya and the boys, Nami didn’t do much and she himself fought and beat Kuro without once using her swords or Flames.

The battle itself wasn’t really hard, it was just that she had had to look after both Usopp _and_ Nami during the fight, which had resulted in her having to draw it out so they didn’t _died._

But anyway, once the fight was over and everyone had been fixed up (with everyone also freaking out when she switched from guy to girl) Kaya had given them a ship, the Going Merry, as a gift for saving her and Usopp had come rolling down the hill and joined the crew as their as the sniper.

Though she had had to punch him to get him to stop calling himself the Captain. Then Banchina had finally returned, so she made it so Usopp could see her and talk to her. He’d started crying and hugging her again, but this time she saw it coming.

She turned and walked away from the mother-son duo to give them some privacy until the ability she had given Usopp disappeared and she could get to know her sniper better.

She explored Merry for a bit, checking the kitchen/galley, the storage room, the bathroom, the men’s room and the Captain’s Quarters (which she and Nami agreed would be the women’s room, and Justine would sleep with the guys when she returned to being Justin (which still confused the crew))

She was in the middle of arranging some of her things in the women’s room when Usopp came down and hugged her again, for once not crying, and thanked her for letting him speak with his mom.

She smiled softly. “You’re welcome Usopp,” then she grinned. “Wanna help me test the cannon?”

And that led to them sitting on the deck and shooting a cluster of rocks with the cannon. The loud bang woke up Zoro and drew him and Nami to them, the man annoyed, the woman angry.

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TWO DOING?!” Nami shrieked at them, sharp teeth and all.

“We were just testing the cannon,” she grumbled, rubbing her ear and glaring slightly at the navigator. “Besides, it was Usopp who fired it, not me.”

“YOU’RE THE ONE WHO SUGGESTED IT!” Usopp yelled at her.

She waved her hand dismissively. “Meh, details,” she blinked as she realised she had forgotten to tell them something pretty important. “Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, in a few days I’m gonna be useless.”

They blinked in surprise, Zoro even raising an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“Let me answer that with a question of my own,” she started, leaning back against the cannon. “Do you two know what all women go through once a month?” Usopp’s face turned red and Zoro looked uncomfortable, while Nami looked amused and confused. “I’ll take that as a yes. Well, I get that too.”

She grinned at Usopp and Zoro’s horrified faces, while Nami looked at her in surprise. “Yeah, I know. You also know how I can’t feel pain?”

“Yeah, the fact you didn’t even flinch when you got stabbed by that clown kinda made that clear,” Nami answered dryly, before something akin of realisation appeared on her face. “Wait a second. Are you saying that you…?” Nami didn’t even finish her sentence, instead looking at her with pity when she nodded. “You poor, poor woman.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Zoro grumbled in irritation, glaring at Nami.

“Nami just figured out where I’m going with this,” she said airily, grinning slightly at the men’s frustrated faces. “Every month I get forcefully turned into a girl and every ounce of pain I should have felt that month I instead feel in the form of period cramps.”

Nami winced slightly and put a solemn hand on her shoulder while the guys gaped at her in horror.

“Yeah, not the best experience I’m afraid, but don’t worry, I won’t be out the whole week. Just the first two days at most and then the pain will be minor enough that I can actually move around. That’s also why I’m a girl right now, to get you guys use to how I look and act when I am one,” she explained to her crew, all the while doing her damndest _not_ to laugh her ass off at their expressions.

“How do you even _live_ …?” Nami breathed, eyes wide with both awe and slight horror.

She shrugged. “Meh, you get used to it. Besides, this has got nothing on the first time it happened. I was thirteen at the time by the way,” Nami choked and she continued talking.”It was so damn bad I couldn’t even sleep, just lie there and take it while screaming bloody murder. Pain reducers doesn’t work either, more like make it even _worse,_ and th-”

“Stop,” Nami interrupter faintly, the men behind also looking like they were close to throwing themselves overboard just to get her to stop talking. “ _Please,_ **_Stop_ ** , we get it, you’ll be out for two days, just _stop_.”

She pouted slightly, but let it go. Not because she wanted to mind you, but because somebody had boarded their ship and was destroying things.

“Come out here you damn pirates!” she raised an eyebrow at the unfamiliar voice, head turning towards it as Nami, Usopp and Zoro tensed. “How dare you try and kill my partner!?”

She huffed, melting into the shadows to appeared near the guy destroying their ship.

“You know,” she said blandly, making the guy whirl around to face her. “Coming onto someone else’s ship and destroying shit isn’t the best way to get answers now is it?” she raised an unimpressed eyebrow when the man just continued to gape. “Look, I know I’m pretty but don’t you think you’re leaving yourself a bit too open to attacks?”

The man visibly shook himself out of his stupor and started glaring at her. “You damn pirates tried to kill my partner!” the man yelled as he swung his sword at her.

“I heard you the first time, thanks,” she answered blandly, easily dodging the slow swings. “Also, will you stop wrecking our ship!?” she yelled in annoyance, ducking under a swing and punching the guy’s face in, making him crash into the wall.

“Johnny?” she blinked, looking up at the newly arrived Zoro. “Is that you?”

“B-Big Bro Zoro?!” the guy, Johnny apparently, stammered, looking at her swordsman in shock.

“You know this guy Zoro?” she questioned, eyeing the guy with new interest, along with the old man standing behind him, winking at her.

“Yeah, we worked together as bounty hunters for a time,” Zoro answered, shooting Johnny a concerned look. “He usually works with a guy name Yosaku. Speaking of which, where is he?”

She raised an eyebrow when Johnny started crying. “C-Come look,” he stammered, leading them to the side of the Merry and pointing down to his boat. She winced slightly when she spotted who she assumed was Yosaku, lying on the boat with blood covered bandages around his abdomen, his skin looking like a mix between grey and purple with blood dripping from his mouth.

“Get him on board,” she ordered solemnly, moving to make room for the sick man.

Zoro nodded and jumped down, quickly gathering his friend and bringing him up to their ship, putting him down on the deck and letting her take a look at him.

“He was fine until a few days ago,” Johnny explained, Nami and Usopp finally coming out of the galley and joining them. “Then he grew pale and started losing consciousness. I have no idea why!”

She hummed, peeling back Yosaku’s lips to confirm her suspicion, wrinkling her nose at the sight of his gums and teeth before letting go and actually listening to what Johnny was saying.

“We landed on this rocky island earlier, but is got destroyed by a cannonball,” she winced and Usopp gaped in horror before bowing in and screaming an apology, though she just looked sheepish.

“Sorry about that, didn’t know there was anyone on it,” she apologised before going back to Yosaku. “Anyway, Nami, Usopp, can you get me a lemon or two?”

Usopp looked confused but Nami huffed. “Are you stupid? Two lemons isn’t nearly enough to cure scurvy.”

She grinned at her, eyes sparkling with mischief. “Maybe if you didn’t have me it wouldn’t be, but luckily, you do. Get them and I’ll show you something awesome.”

Nami rolled her eyes but still grabbed Usopp and dragged him with her to get the lemons.

“Wait, what’s scurvy?” she gave Johnny an unimpressed look but didn’t get to say anything before Nami was back and hitting the guy in the head.

“Idiot!” she shrieked as Usopp handed her the lemons, which she took with a smirk. “Scurvy is something you get when you don’t get enough nutrients by eating fruits and vegetables!”

She laughed, slicing the lemons in half and squeezing the juice into Yosaku’s mouth as Nami berated the boys on the importance of having a proper diet.

“Alright,” she said, drawing everyone’s attention as she put the last juice-free lemon slice on the deck. “Time to cure this guy.”

“What are you talking about-!?” Nami didn’t get to finish yelling, stopping mid-sentence as she coated her hands in Cloud Flames and put them on Yosaku’s chest, pouring the purple Flames into his body, aiming for the vitamins in the lemon juice.

“WHAT THE HELL!?” she heard Johnny yell, making her glare at him in irritation as she got the Cloud to multiply the vitamins and the white blood cells.

“Shut up will yah? I’m trying to work here!” she yelled back as Yosaku’s skin slowly started returning to its normal color. “If I lose concentration I could give this guy cancer!”

That shut them up, and they started staring at Yosaku in wonder as purple Flames burned away the blood coming from his mouth.

After a while she pulled back, letting the Cloud disappear and stood up, stretching her back with a sigh.

“There. All better.”

They stared at her.

* * *

 

“Hey, Big Sis Justine?”

She hummed, turning her head slightly so she could look at Johnny and keep an eye on the food she was cooking at the same time. “Yes Johnny?”

The man swallowed the food in his mouth quickly, looking slightly uncertain. “Well, it’s just… what were those purple flames?”

Her crew and guests all stopped eating, looking at her with interest.

She sighed, putting the food on and plate and joining them at the table. “Sorry you two, that’s only for the crew to know,” she smirked at them around the fork it her mouth. “And I have a feeling you don’t want to join.”

Johnny and Yosaku smiled sheepishly. “Sorry Sis, we just don’t feel like being Pirates.”

She nodded, understanding their reasoning and using her Mist to subtly direct everyone to put the question in the back of their minds and ask it when it was just the crew and no one else. Though in Johnny and Yosaku’s case she removed it entirely.

“That’s fine,” she said, ignoring the dazed looks on the two bounty hunter’s faces. “After all, we don’t even have a flag yet. Or a cook for that matter.”

Usopp looked confused. “Well the flag part is already fixed, but why do we need a cook? Your food is excellent!”

She chuckled as everyone agreed with Usopp’s statement in their own way. “While I’m glad you like my cooking, I am by no means an expert and wouldn’t know the first thing about rationing properly. So I’m sorry to disappoint you all, but we need a cook.” she blinked. “Wait, what do you mean ‘already fixed’?”

Usopp grinned, standing up and putting his hand in his pocket, pulling out a big black cloth.

“TADA!”

Her eyes widened as she took in the flag in Usopp’s hands, surprised. It was like a basic skull and crossbones, only the skull’s eyes were glowing with purple and indigo fire and it had a messy mane of black hair outlined with gold, the bones had been replaced with two long katanas and there was an orange wolf curled up under the swords, its head raised to look up at them.

She gaped at the flag for a bit, unable to believe Usopp had been able to draw something so… so… _her._

Said sniper was starting to look nervous.

“I-If you don’t like it I can always draw something else…”

That snapped her out of her stupor and she tackled the sniper in a hug.

“It’s perfect Usopp,” she assured him, grinning. “I was just surprised you knew about the wolf and the orange.”

He looked slightly surprised, but grinned back. “I’m glad you like it, though I have no idea where the wolf came from either. I don’t remember drawing it.” he frowned, suddenly confused.

She chuckled as she let go of him, shooting a look at the shadows. “Well, either way it’s great. Think you can draw it on the sails too?”

Usopp puffed out his chest. “Of course I can! The Great Captain Usopp can do anything!”

She raised an eyebrow. “Then the Great Captain Usopp better get going before the Great Murderous Shadow User kicks his ass.”

He was out the door in seconds.

She shook her head and turned towards the others in the room. “We still need a cook. Any ideas?”

Johnny and Yosaku grinned. “You bet Big Sis! There’s this awesome floating seafood restaurant called the Baratie! I’m sure one of the chefs there would be willing to join your crew Justine!”

She smiled at them. “Then I guess that’s where we’re heading.”


	9. Of Getting Cooks and Fighting Dons

She raised an eyebrow when she saw the restaurant, surprised.

_ ‘Why on earth is it a fish?’ _

That was the reason she had raised her eyebrow. That, and the fact it was three stories high, but mainly the fish part.

“Welcome to the Baratie!” Johnny yelled excitedly, grinning at them.

“It’s a fish,” she deadpanned, giving him an unimpressed look.

Johnny’s grin faltered slightly, but he didn’t get to respond before a Naval Ship pulled up beside the Merry. She eyed the cannon that was being pointed at them before her gaze shifted to the marine walking to the side of the ship to stare down at them.

“I am Iron Fist Fullbody, Lieutenant at Navy Headquarters!” the man yelled down at them. “I don’t recognise your pirate mark! Who is your Captain? Come out and state your name!”

She huffed softly, moving towards the side and drawing Fullbody’s eye. “My name is Justine, the Captain of this crew!” she announced, doing her best to ignore the way the guy was eyeing her. “Our mark was made a few days ago, so it would make sense that you don’t know who we are.”

“Upstart Pirates…” Fullbody said in disgust, still staring at her like she was a piece of meat before shifting his gaze to look at Johnny and Yosaku. “And you two, you’re those small time bounty hunters.”

“Small time!?”

She smiled sweetly, all teeth and violence. “And you’re a jackass. Which of us is worse?”

The marine inhaled sharply just as a fancy dressed woman came up to stand next to him, giving Justine a dirty look when she realised the Pirate upstaged her without even trying. “Let’s just go to the restaurant Dear,” the woman said in a soft voice.

“Okay,” the man said, allowing the woman to drag him away.

“Oi, who are you calling small time!?” Johnny yelled, taking a stack of paper from his pocket and throwing it onto the deck. “Would a small time bounty hunter go after these guys!?”

The marine ignored him and Johnny didn’t get to say anything else before the sounds of cannon fire grabbed everyone’s attention.

“They’re shooting at us!” Usopp screamed, making her give him a deadpan look even as she prepare to deflect the cannonball. “Really? I hadn’t notice,” she said blandly, before jumping up and kicking the cannonball away from Merry, though she winced a little when it almost hit the restaurant.

“Welp, that was close,” she laughed, grinning at her screaming sniper. “Johnny, get us over there!”

“Aye Aye Captain!”

* * *

 

“Oh my Goddess!” she blinked, staring at the finely dressed blonde in complete and utter bewilderment, because honestly, why in the Underworld did his eyes look like pink hearts? “Fate has blessed me with your presence! Tell me, what can this lowly mortal do for you?!”

His declaring of her being a goddess threw her off slightly, before amusement took over and she answered.

“Could we have a table?” she asked, amusement growing when the blonde man started swooning

“Of course my Goddess!” the man danced over to a table next to one of the windows, pulling her and Nami’s chairs out for them, making them smile at him, which in turn made him swoon even more and made Zoro and Usopp glare at him.

The man seemed to calm down somewhat as he took their orders, even if he said her and Nami’s food would be free, but he skipped over Usopp after a starving man who had threatened one of the chefs with a gun was kicked out of the restaurant.

“Excuse me, I have another order to take. I’ll put your orders in the kitchen.”

She stared at the chef as he stormed towards the kitchen, leaning back in her seat with a soft hum.

“Nami, think you could inform the Head Chef he’s going to be down a chef?” she asked, getting out of her seat to get what would be Her’s. “Seems I’ve found our cook.”

Nami just sighed, but got up and started looking for the Head Chef.

She watched as the chef gave food to the starving man with a small smile, the blonde woman standing behind him smiling proudly at her son.

“Hey Chef, wanna join my crew?” she snickered when the two men jumped slightly, the chef’s eyes once again turning into hearts.

“Ah, my Goddess! A lovely young lady like you, a Pirate?” the chef asked, the man he had given food to also looking at her in shock.

She grinned. “Yup! We’re going to the Grand Line and you’re coming with us! I’m Justine by the way, what’s your name?”

The man swooned. “I am Sanji my dear Goddess, the Sous Chef,” the hearts in Sanji’s eyes disappeared. “But I am afraid I have to decline your offer dear Goddess. Maybe one day, but not now.”

She stared at the chef, trying to find what she was looking for in his face.

“You don’t want to go to the Grand Line girlie,” she looked down at the man, her eyebrow raised in question. The man shuddered, the woman behind him smiling sadly. “It’s not a place for someone so young.”

“Oh?” she murmured, eyes growing hard as she stared him down. “And who are  _ you _ to tell  _ me _ what to do?” she didn't let him answer, instead bulldozing on. “Listen, I appreciate the concern, but I don’t need nor  _ want _ it. I plan on becoming the King of the Pirates, and I am  _ not _ going to give up on that dream simply because everyone says it’s ‘impossible’ or ‘too dangerous’. So thank you for the advice, but it’s going in the trash. Besides, I’ll have a strong guy like you on my crew, right?” 

She grinned at Sanji causing hearts to appear in his eyes again. No matter how long it took, she was getting Her chef. Not like he could stop her.

* * *

Three days. They’d been there for three days and Sanji still wouldn’t agree to join the crew. Good news, the food was excellent. Bad news, her period probably going to start either today or tomorrow.

So when the doors the restaurant opened with a big ‘BANG’ she was out of her chair in seconds, standing to attention.

There was the guy Sanji had fed the day she and her crew had arrived, supporting the weight of a big man wearing a yellow shirt and a purple coat.

“F-Food. I… I need food, anything,” the man called brokenly, desperately, and she noticed Sanji weaving between his fellow cooks with a steaming plate of food in his hand, which he placed in front of the starving man. He took a step back to allow the man room to eat, ignoring the protests coming from the other cooks as the man sobbed out his thanks between bites.

“What do you think you’re doing you bastard!? This is a restaurant, which means we only serve food to  _ paying customers _ !” she narrowed her eyes at the man yelling at Sanji, while Sanji himself shot the mint haired guy a bone chilling glare and moved to stand between him and the guy eating.

“It’s a chef’s responsibility to make sure  _ no one, ever _ , has to feel so hungry they would rather die. Something you wouldn’t know the first thing about, Patty!” Sanji yelled passionately, making her smile.

The man, Patty, clasped his hands together under his chin and smiled pleasantly. “Oh Sanji. So kind, so caring.” she moved before she realised she was doing it, catching Patty’s hand before it hit Her cook.

She gave the man a vicious glare that had him stumbling back as she let go of the hand.

“No one…” she growled, eyes glowing white and shadows moving in her ire. “Touches what is  _ Mine _ .”

Because while Sanji hadn’t agreed to join her crew, she knew he would, so he was practically her’s.

Patty gulped and Sanji gave her an unreadable look. “I don’t recall agreeing to be yours, Miss Justine,” hearts appeared in his eyes. “Not that I object at all!”

She snorted, turning to the cook with a grin. “I know you’re going to join the crew at some point, so that makes you Mine,” she tilted her head, looking past her cook to Krieg, who had stood up at some point during that exchange and was looking at her hungrily, which made her raise an eyebrow and shoot Sanji a bland look. 

“Seems you didn’t feed him enough.”

Sanji blinked the hearts out of his eyes, looking at her questioningly. “What makes you say that my Goddess?”

She pointed to Krieg. “Because he’s looking at me like he wants to eat me, and I seriously doubt even he would resort to cannibalism unless he absolutely had to.”

The way Sanji’s eyes widened with rage amused her greatly. Sadly she didn’t get to see where it would lead, since the Head Chef Zeff came out and placed a bag of food in front of Krieg for him to give to his men. The self proclaimed ‘strongest man on the seas’ shot her one last look before grabbing the bag and walking out, throwing a threat of ‘Leave or I’ll kill you’ over his shoulder on the way, leaving behind a shocked Gin and a furious Sanji.

* * *

 

She whistled in appreciation as she took in the damage that had just been done to Krieg’s galleon. The big ship had been worse for wear, but it had still been able to sail. Now it was just a bunch of wood floating in the sea.

“It’s him…” she turned to look at Zoro questioningly, taking in his tense expression. “‘Hawk-Eye’ Mihawk, the World’s Greatest Swordsman.”

She blinked, turning to look at the man her swordsman was set on defeating. Black hair, wide hat, no shirt, giant sword and eyes that reminded her of her mother.

“Huh,” she said as Zoro jumped in the water to swim closer to his goal. “So that’s Hawk-Eyes? Looks like a male version of my mum when she’s pissed.”

She ignored the looks the chefs were giving her in favour of reaching into the shadows and pulling out her katanas, putting them on her back so she could have easy access to them when she needed them. Then she noticed the Merry was gone and frowned.

That was when Yosaku and Johnny came up to her and told her that Nami had taken the ship. She sighed, ordering Usopp and the two bounty hunters to sail after her in the two’s boat, assuring them that she and Zoro would catch up after the fight with their new cook. They did as told and she went back to watching the fight.

Though ‘fight’ was probably too generous a word, considering it was more of a beatdown. The guy wasn’t even taking Zoro seriously, using a small dagger instead of his giant sword.

It wasn’t long before two of Zoro’s sword were broken and his third sheeted, her swordsman’s arms stretched out to the sides.

“Scars on the back are a swordsman’s shame!” he yelled at Mihawk, who gave a small smirk in response.

“I see,” he said, before taking his sword off his back and swinging it. Blood flew in all directions as the swordsman was cut from shoulder to hip.

“ZORO!” she exclaimed, watching her swordsman fall into the sea with wide eyes that were then turned on Mihawk.

“You  _ bastard _ ,” she growled, moving to grab the swords on her back before a cry of “Wait!” stopped her. She turned her head to look at Zoro, who had been pulled onto Johnny and Yosaku’s boat by Usopp. “You said… you weren’t interested in the title of World’s Greatest Swordsman!” the man yelled hoarsely, staring at her.

She exhaled through her nose and nodded, moving her hands to her side. “I did, didn’t I?”

Zoro shakily raised his sword into the air, tears flowing down his face. “I promise, I won’t ever lose again! Is that okay with you, Pirate King!?”

She smirked, arms folding over her chest. “You bet!”

Zoro flashed a grin before his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he slumped, sword barely missing Usopp, who yelped as the small boat began to sail away.

Her gaze was drawn to Mihawk as he moved, stepping gracefully into his coffin-like boat. “I will be waiting at the top, Roronoa Zoro! Try and surpass me when you get there!” the swordsman yelled, the man behind him nodding to her in silent apology at what the one he was following had done to someone she cared about. She nodded back in acceptance as Mihawk sailed away, turning to look at Krieg with a determined expression.

“Hey Chef!” she yelled, eyes still locked on Krieg. “If I beat this guy, will you clear our tab?”

She heard a snort coming from behind her and smiled at the “Sure brat.” she got in reply, pulling her katana from her back.

“Good,” she said. Then she launched herself at Krieg.


	10. Of Annoying Pains and Being Pissed

And almost immediately collapsed as pain hit her like a train.

She gave a choked gasp as she fell to her knees, swords clattering to the ground as she wrapped her arms around her abdomen in a reflective attempt to stop the pain. She grit her teeth, panting harshly, body shaking violently at the twisting pain that came with that time of the month.

“Miss Justine!” she heard Sanji yell, before she felt him run over to her and lift her up bridal style, still gasping for breath. “What happened?!”

She breathed deeply through her nose, groaning. “Just… pain. I don’t feel pain most of the time, so for some reason all of it gets crammed together for me to feel during my period,” she explained hoarsely, legs shaking as she moved to get out of Sanji’s grip and stand almost on her own, arm thrown over Sanji’s shoulders.

“WHAAAAAT!?” everyone, Pirate and cook, yelled in disbelief, staring wide eyed at her as she put a hand to her stomach and panted.

She grinned slightly, though it was more of a pained grimace. “Yeah, and pain meds just makes it worse.”

“So the Big Bad Girl can’t even take a little pain?” Krieg yelled gleefully, his crew laughing like it was the best joke they’d ever heard. “And _you_ expect to survive the Grand Line?! Don’t make me laugh!”

She felt a spark of righteous fury ignited in her chest at those words. “Oh yeah!? Well I’d like to see _you_ deal with having to feel the amount of pain _you’ve_ suffered this month in the form of a god damn period!” she yelled right back, the fact this guy had tried to hurt something that she had claimed as Her’s only adding Cloud colored fuel to the fire. “I’m willing to bet you would be on your ass for much longer than I’m going to be!”

Krieg glared at her, eyes hot with rage. “Shut up brat! You’re just a girl trying to do a man’s job! Now be a good whore and let me take you!”

Her pupils dilated and she _snarled_. “What did you just say?” she growled, moving away from Sanji who didn’t even try to stop her, probably just as enraged as she was. “Care to repeat that?”

Krieg gave her a sickening grin. “I said, get over here _whore_ and let me-!” Krieg didn’t get to finish his sentence before her fist slammed into his face, sending him flying.

She snarled as she approached the piece of shit, eyes glowing bright purple with Cloud fuel rage and an invisible wind ripping at her hair.

The moron snared right back at her, nose bleeding and eyes holding just the slightest hint of fear. “How dare you! I am Don Krieg, the Ruler of the East Blu-!” she grabbed him by the throat, lifting him up with ease and glaring ferociously.

“And I,” she growled, tightening her grip when he tried to struggle. “Am _pissed_.” she punched him in the gut, denting his golden armor and making him cough up blood. She grinned sadistically, throwing him onto another piece of what had once been his ship before walking towards him again, casually stepping onto the water and walking on it like it was the ground.

Exclamations of shock echoed around her but she ignored them, eyes locked on Krieg as she grabbed her bracelets.

“Ελευθέρωση,”(1) she said quietly, the click of the bracelets opening signaling the rush of power that followed as her Devil Fruit roared in delight at being set free.

Something akin of black smoke, only much more ominous, coated her hands as she walked towards the so called ‘strongest man on the seas’, who was looking at her with anger and fear, bracelets now attached to her belt so they didn’t get in the way.

She was close to him now, feet hitting wood, reaching out to touch him again with a hand coated in black smoke, before a loud cracking sound echoed around them and she paused, turning her head slightly to see what was going on.

Gin was standing with a gun to Zeff’s head, a guy dressed in pearls and iron hitting a distracted Sanji and sending him flying. She growled, the sound loud enough to draw everyone’s attention.

“Get away from him…” she ground out, glaring viciously at the stupidly dressed guy. “He is _Mine_.”

The guy laughed, mockingly and unbothered. “Oh sweetheart, what does it matter? You’re all going to die either way.”

Eyes flaring purple she summoned Sourushīkā and threw it at the guy, the gold guarded sword flying towards the guy at a high speed. Apparently to fast for the guy to dodge. Or he’s just an idiot, who knows, because the guy didn’t even _try_ to move. He just turned his metal covered front towards it and let the sword hit him, sinking into the metal like a hot knife through butter.

His eyes widened, looking down at the sword sticking out of his chest, before spitting out some blood and falling over dead.

She growled in satisfaction and turned back to Krieg, who had decided this was a good time to try and hit her. The keyword there being ‘try’. She smirked at Krieg’s shocked face, grabbing the arm that was currently going through her chest and pulled it out, the hole in her chest disappearing in black smoke.

“Bad move,” she said smoothly, tightening her grip with a sadistic grin. **_“Decay.”_ **

Krieg screamed, the black moving up his arm and rotting away his flesh and clothes, before falling silent and going limp as it enveloped his head and rooted it away, killing him instantly. She didn’t let go until everything was gone, only his bones and armor remaining.

She threw the skeleton into the sea carelessly, looking back at the restaurant calmly, raising an eyebrow at Gin where he was facing off against Sanji with his two tonfa, Sanji apparently fighting with only his legs.

Gin was staring mutely at the place she had thrown his Captain’s skeleton, seemingly unable to believe what had happened. She smiled softly at Sanji when he moved away from the frozen man, lighting a cigarette and returning the smile.

Then she groaned, wrapping her arms around her stomach and falling to her knees, the shadows already putting the bracelets back around her wrists.

“Damn,” she mumbled when she felt Sanji pick her up for the second time that day, this time without freaking out as much. “I was so pissed I completely forgot _why_ I was pissed. Who would have thought?”

Sanji just chuckled.

* * *

 

She smiled at Sanji, groaning slightly as she lifted herself up to accept the soup he had made for her.

After the ‘fight’ with Krieg, Zeff had managed to convince Sanji that it was okay for him to leave the restaurant and join her crew, since the old chef didn’t think Sanji owed him anything. He also pointed out, with quite a bit of amusement in his voice, that she probably wouldn’t be able to do anything until the end of the week, which meant she needed someone to take care of her.

That had sealed the deal, with the downside being that the love sick cook had immediately started fussing over her like a mother hen.

She had been exasperated but let it pass, too happy at finally having her chef to care. Then Yosaku had arrived half inside a shark and told them where Nami was heading. Gin had left on another boat with what was left of his former crew, saying he would meet them on the Grand Line.

So now here they were, Sanji doing his best to make the horrible experience she was going through more bearable and Yosaku looking at her curiously.

“Hey, Big Sis Justine?”

She hummed around the spoon in her mouth, shooting Yosaku a questioning look.

He pointed to her bracelets, looking confused. “You have a Devil Fruit, right?” she nodded. “Then why do you wear those bracelets? It’s obvious they block your powers.”

She swallowed the soup, leaning back against her seat. “My Devil Fruit is powerful. So powerful that, when I first got it, I couldn’t control it at all and had to wear these so I didn’t accidentally kill everyone I touched. I don’t really have that problem anymore, so now I wear them as a way to get stronger faster and trick people,” she smirked at them. “I train with them on and then when I take them off, my strength increases to ridiculous amounts. And tricking people is easy, because what Devil Fruit user in their right mind would ever limit their own power by wearing Seastone, which is what these bracelets are made of?” she held up a hand when Yosaku opened his mouth again. “I know you have questions, but please, wait until everyone is here. That way I don’t have to explain everything twice.”

Yosaku nodded, understanding her reasoning even as she set it up so that he would forget to ask her, and took a drink of the soup. Then a giant Sea Cow appeared.

* * *

 

“YOU USELESS SACK OF SHIT SEA COW-! GET BACK HERE SO I CAN STRANGLE YOU!” she roared in anger, pain momentarily forgotten as she leapt to her feet to shake her fist threateningly at the Sea King that had just launched them into the air, said Sea King looking complete and utterly terrified. And rightfully so, she was going to kill it whether her Uncle liked it or not!

“Miss Justine, get down from there!” her head snapped to Sanji and she glared at him, more than ready to curse him out. Unfortunately she didn’t get the chance to unleash the many, _many_ swear words she knew before a surprised yell alerted them to the fact they were about to hit the ground and someone. And hit they did. _Hard._

She blinked the spots away and slowly lifted herself up to take in the wrecked ship, her eyes widening when she realised the guy the boat had hit was Zoro.

“Oh shit, Zoro!” she yelled, before once again collapsing from the pain in her abdomen, groaning at the unfairness of it all.

“Eh? Justine?” the swordsman asked in confusion as he climbed out from under wreckage to stare at her groaning form. “What the hell happened to you?”

She grit her teeth and glared at him. “Gee, I don’t know, maybe it has something to do with me suddenly feeling all the pain I should have felt this month all at once?”

Zoro blinked before comprehension appeared on his face and all he could say was, “Oh.”

She grunted as she was picked up, gripping Sanji’s shirt tightly. “Yes, ‘Oh’,” she growled, hand on her stomach again to try and dull the pain. “By the way, meet Sanji, the cook. Sanji, meet Zoro, the First Mate. Behave.”

The two men sized each other up, making her roll her eyes before she noticed someone was missing. “Hey, where’s Usopp?”

Zoro swore. “Fuck, Usopp! The bastard’s been caught by Arlong!”

“He was killed!”

She raised an eyebrow at Johnny, who was running towards them until he couldn’t anymore and collapsed in front of them. “W-We’re to late,” he panted. “Big Bro Usopp is dead! Nami killed him!” then he noticed her. “Eh? Big Sis Justine, why are you being carried?”

She huffed, a bit sick of explaining what was happening to her all the time. “I’m on my period. Once a month I get turned into a girl and have to feel the pain I should have felt that month in the form of cramps,” she explained with a sweet smile as Johnny and Yosaku, who had come out of the wreckage, gaped at her in horror. “Now, tell me what happened.”

“Wait, ‘get turned into a girl’?” she looked up at Sanji, who was looking down at her in confusion.

“Oh, right, you don’t know. Well, I’m normally a guy, but I sometimes switch to being a girl,” he eyes widened in shock and she rolled her eyes. “Oh relax, it’s not like you think. When I change gender, _everything_ changes. My body, my mind, my _soul_. If you’re going to get all prissy about the fact my gender changes sometimes, then piss me off so I can punch some sense into you.” she gave him an unimpressed look. “What does it matter if I have a dick or not? I’m still the same person, even if I am a bit more reserved when I’m a guy.”

Sanji still looked conflicted, so she just sighed and decided this wasn’t the time to have this conversation. “Look, if it bothers you so much, then wait until _after_ we get Nami back to think about it, deal?”

Sanji thought it over before nodding, agreeing.

“‘Get me back’? Don’t make me laugh,” they all turned and she looked eyes with her navigator, whose expression almost made it seem like she was an emotionless bitch.

Almost. Too bad for Nami that she was an _expert_ in being dead-eyed and emotionless, an art she had perfected back when she was still only seven years old and in a different world.

“Damn you!” Johnny screamed, on his feet and pointing angrily at the navigator. “You killed Big Bro Usopp! Don’t even try and deny it!”

“No she didn’t you idiot,” she snapped at him, earning a shocked look from him. “If he was dead I would be the first to know.” she saw Nami’s eyes widen just a bit as she remembered that she could, in fact, see and interact with the dead. “If he was dead he would be following us.” she paused. “And probably Kaya as well, but that’s irrelevant.”

And she did like she had done every other time she informed someone of the Dead. She made memory triggers in their heads set to specific circumstances. Sanji got a temporary manual one and a permanent blabbering one, and Johnny and Yosaku got one that would activate as soon as they were far enough away from her.

And yes, she was well aware that she was abusing the shit out of her Flames, but considering what her lightning happy Uncle had threatened to do to them if she let anyone _not_ on her crew or family know about the Dead? She was doing them a damn _favour_.

“Wait, WHAT!?” the three not in the know yelled, Sanji almost dropping her in shock. She sighed in irritation.

“Long story short, the Dead follow us. Loved ones walk behind us until we died or someone who was closer to us then them died and replaces or joins them, but now is not the time for this!” she looked at Nami, eyes burning with determined possessiveness. “Nami, you. Are. _Mine_ . Mine to fight for, Mine to protect, Mine to _love_. I’m not gonna give you up because some douchebag fishman branded you and if I have to kill the bastard to prove it, then that’s what I’m gonna do. You’re Mine. Deal with it.”

Nami’s eyes grew wider and wider the more she spoke, all attempts of appearing bad gone in favour of absolute shock, before gritting her teeth and shutting her eyes tightly, hands curled into fists and shaking. “Just leave already! Go look for the One Piece and just leave me the hell alone!”

She smirked, moving slightly to get comfortable in Sanji’s grip, closing her eyes. “Nope. I’m gonna take a nap now, ‘cause this pain is annoying as shit,” and then she was out like a light.

* * *

 

1) “Release,”


	11. Of Crew Names and Douchebag Fish

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you AsheNyx for coming up with an excellent name for the crew :) Still working on Justin/Justine’s name, but thank you for commenting all the same.

She was woken up by Sanji aiming a kick at Zoro and instead hitting Usopp.

“Told you he wasn’t dead,” she mumbled sleepily, wincing slightly at the twisting pain but ignoring it, opening one eye to look at Usopp lazily. “Took you long enough to find us.”

“Ah, Miss Justine, sorry for waking you up,” Sanji apologised, looking at her guiltily.

“It’s fine,” she groaned, moving to get out of her cook’s grip. “I needed to get up anyway.” she looked around from her place on the ground, frowning. “Where’s Yosaku and Johnny?”

“They left,” Zoro grunted. “Said they didn’t want to get involved with Arlong.”

She shrugged, leaning against a rock. “Just as well. They were never gonna stay, might as well leave now that we don’t really need them anymore.” she looked down at the fallen Usopp, smirking slightly. “So, how’s your day been?”

Usopp jumped to his feet and began telling the (probably embellished) story of what had happened since they arrived and how Nami had saved him by stabbing her hand.

She hummed, reaching up to get Sanji to carry her again, which he was all too happy to do. “Welp, guess that’s that. Let’s go beat up the douchey fish and get our navigator back!”

“W-Wait!” Usopp stammered as Zoro stood up as well, hand on his swords. “We need to know what Nami’s story is first! We need all the information we can get before we decide what to do!”

“It doesn’t matter what you do,” she turned her head to look at the newcomer. “It’s no use.”

She studied the young woman, taking in her features. Short blue hair, oversized chest, tattoo over said chest, tanned and looking at them like they were all idiots.

“Nojiko!” Usopp gasped.

“You know her Usopp?” she asked, turning her head to look at her sniper.

“She’s Nami big sister,” she hummed at the information, giving Sanji a warning look that went ignored in favour of drooling over the woman. “Sanji, stop being an idiot,” she ordered, looking back at the woman. “And you, which way’s Arlong Park? I’ve got a fish to beat up.”

Nojiko glared at her. “Don’t get involved in things that don’t concern you. Leave Nami alone and I’ll explain the circumstances.”

She snorted, letting her hand ignite in Mist from its place on her stomach. “Yeah, no. Do that and I’ll make it impossible for us to hear,” she shot Usopp a Look when he was about to protest. “Nami is part of our crew. It should be her choice when she tells us her past, not someone else’s.” she snorted slightly. “Besides, I already know what happened, at least to some extent. And no, I’m not telling you how.” she said, shooting Nojiko and Usopp another Look.

She blinked, melting into Sanji’s arms with a sigh of relief. “Oh thank the gods,” she moaned slightly, moving out of Sanji’s arms and standing on her own. “Stupid pain’s dulled.” she started walking in a random direction.

“Wait a second, where are you going!?” she looked over her shoulder, still walking. “I’m gonna stretch my legs! I’ve been carried around for more then a day, I need to move so I don’t go crazy!”

And off she went, thankful that she hadn’t been hurt enough the last three weeks for the pain to be so bad she couldn’t move for two days straight.

* * *

 

She had just been wandering around the village, happy she was finally able to _move_ even if it was horribly uncomfortable, when she stumbled upon Nami, who was stabbing her tattooed shoulder in anger and crying her eyes out, screaming Arlong’s name over and over.

She reached out without a second thought, grabbing the hand holding the knife gently but firmly, stopping it cold and making her navigator look up at her.

“Justine,” Nami whispered as she took the knife from her, throwing it over her shoulder carelessly. “Why are you even here?”

She smiled softly, eyes briefly moving up to the red haired woman behind her navigator, before looking back at her. “You know why,” she said kindly, zipping up her hoodie and taking it off, putting it on Nami’s shoulders. “Because you’re Mine. My raging Storm.”

Nami stared up at her, eyes filled with tears and for once, just this once, she let the illusion she had around her face fall away so she could look at Nami with her own eyes. Nami gasped softly, staring at the face she could never truly _see_ before now.

“Justine…” she whimpered, bowing her head and letting her tears hit her shaking fists. “Help me…”

She grinned, illusion going back up as she stood up and ruffled Nami’s hair. “Of course I will!” she looked behind her, spotting Zoro, Sanji and Usopp all standing there. “Let’s go guys! Take care of that hoodie for me Nami, I want it back.”

Nami hiccuped slightly as they all walked past her and towards Arlong Park.

* * *

 

When they arrived at the entrance to the park, they were met with a mob of villagers and Johnny and Yosaku, beaten and bloody, leaning against the big doors and waiting for them. She gave the big metal doors an unimpressed look after flashing the two now moved bounty hunter a small smile, before drawing back her right arm and punching the damn things so hard they shattered.

She heard Usopp, who had not yet seen first hand how strong she really was, choke slightly as she stepped into the park, eyes hard and face set in a frown. She glanced around at the dumbfounded fishmen, looking for one in particular as her crew step forward to stand next to her.

“Which one of you is Arlong?” she asked gruffly, growl in her voice.

One of them, a blue guy with a long nose, straightened from his place on a throne-like chair and looked at her more closely. “I am. Who are you?”

She ignored the question, instead summoning her swords into her hands, gripping the two hilts as the blades formed in a slide of shadow. The only thing she could actually _do_ with her shadow while on her period. At least it was useful.

“You tried breaking what is Mine,” she growled, eyes glowing white with power as she glared. “So I’m here to kick your ass, douchebag.”

Arlong and his crew burst out laughing. “Shahahaha! You pathetic humans think you can take me on!?” he kept on laughing, so hard in fact he didn’t even realise she was next to him until her fist hit his cheek and sent him flying into the wall.

“What!?” one of them, an octopus, yelled. “Nyuu~ No human should be able to do that!”

She smirked at those words, swords on her back and fist painted red. “Then it’s a good thing I’m more than human, isn’t it?”

Her crew looked at her weirdly while another fishman growled.

“What are you then?” the fishman, who was wearing a dark blue gi, growled, the fins on his arms looking like they would really hurt.

She shrugged, still smirking.

“I’m a Pirate.”

A trumpeting noise came from somewhere near the water and made her look towards it, letting her see the sea cow from before rise out of the water. She saw red.

“YOU!” she roared, the Sea King recognising her immediately and turning to flee with tears in its eyes. “YOU USELESS FUCKING PRICK, GET BACK HERE AND LET ME TURN YOU INTO FUCKING SHISHKEBAB YOU FUCKING FUCKED UP SUSHI REJECT!”

She didn’t even care right now, she just wanted revenge for the trashy cow’s trashy driving making the pain she had been in even _worse_ , so she jumped straight onto the water and started chasing it around with Sourukattā, much to the shock and bafflement of everyone but Sanji, who had already seen her walk on water like she was freaking Jesus or something.

“Hey, Captain!” she blinked, lowering the silver guarded sword from where it had been raised over her head and looked at Zoro, who looked extremely amused if a bit confused.

“What!?” she yelled in irritation, glaring slightly. “This fucking thing needs to die, you hear?! DIE!”

“I understand that Captain,” Zoro looked like he was trying desperately not to laugh. “But don’t you think you can do that _after_ we’re done here?”

She huffed but conceded to his unspoken point (Free Nami first, _then_ go after the shitty cow), so she launched herself back onto solid ground, cutting down the green skinned fishman that was in her way once she reached the park.

He fell to the ground in a spray of blood, dead before he even knew what was happening. She stared at the angry fishmen charging at her with indifference before they were all knocked unconscious by a volley of kicks.

“Miss Justine, while I admire your strength and determination, could you please leave some for the rest of us to fight?” she grinned at Sanji’s casual yet adoring tone, chuckling when she heard Usopp admit that he wouldn’t mind not fighting at all.

“Sure!” she exclaimed, casually stabbing through a fishman that had tried sneaking up behind her without turning around. “Help yourselves! I just want Arlong, the rest is all yours.”

The fact she clearly didn’t see any of them as an actual _threat_ only served to make the Arlong Pirates even more pissed, three in particular, the octopus, one with big lips and a blush, and the one with the fins, making themselves know.

“Don’t worry Captain,” the blue clad fishman said, falling into a stand. “We’ll take care of these pests.”

“You as well Miss Justine,” Sanji said, making her glance at him in question. “We’ll take care of these guys so you can deal with Arlong.”

She nodded in acceptance, stepping back and letting Zoro and a shaky legged Usopp step forward to stand next to Sanji so that Zoro was facing the octopus, Sanji the one with the fins, and Usopp the one with the blush. They all stared at each other for a bit, Usopp’s knees clanging together the only sound that could be heard, before Zoro and Sanji launched themselves at their opponents at the same time. Usopp’s opponent _also_ launched himself at the sniper, but said sniper did _not_ , too busy throwing his hands over his head and screaming as he turned a full 180 degrees and ran in the opposite direction, which lead out of the park, the fishman following after him.

She sat down on a piece of rubble large enough for her to do so, placed her elbows on her knees so she could intertwine her fingers and place her head on them, content on watching her crew fight for the moment. Though her eyebrow twitched slightly in annoyance when Usopp ran out of the park, but she quickly let it go, focusing on the other two for now.

“You,” Arlong growled at her over the sounds of swords clashing and kick and punches, making her raise an eyebrow in question. “Who are you?!”

She smirked behind her fingers.

“I am Monkey D. Justine, Captain of the Grim Pack Pirates,” she responded calmly, using a bit of Mist to make sure Sanji and Zoro didn’t lose focus because of the random name she just pulled out of her arse. “And you are Arlong, the douchebag fish that hurt my navigator.” she tilted her head when he growled, still smirking. “What’s that? Did I strike a nerve?”

Arlong ignored her, instead barking a laugh. “ _Your_ navigator? Don’t make me laugh-” “Too late, already did.” (Que growl) “-Nami was never _your_ navigator, she-!”

“I call bullshit,” she interrupted him again, uncaring of the glare aimed at her. “Nami hates you with every fiber of her being, so much so that I’m honestly surprised you don’t spontaneously combust from sheer hate alone every time she aims a glare in your general direction. If she has, at _any_ point in history, been _your_ navigator, then I’m a fucking horse.” then she aimed a glare at the sky. “Don’t you fucking dare.” she growled at it, confusing Arlong for a second before a gleam entered his eyes and he grinned.

“So that’s what makes you more than human,” he said, earning himself a bored look from her.

“Congratulations, you’ve guessed the fucking obvious. Want a cookie?” she drawled, sarcasm dripping off of every word and pissing the fishman off.

He growled, rising from the piece of rubble he’d been seated on and walking towards her, stopping in front of her and glaring into her eyes. She stared back calmly, completely unafraid of the angry fishman towering over her.

“I’ve always wondered what it would be like to fight against a Demigod,” he commented quietly so no one could hear, his unguarded back much more clear to her now that he was so close. She flipped backward off the rubble she had been sitting on, landing on her hands and pushing off the ground again so she landed on her feet in a crouched position, staring at Arlong who was pulling his fist out of the ground where she had just been and grinning at her dementedly. “Why don’t you help me find out!”

Her face hardened and she took the swords off her back, getting into a loose stand as Arlong rushed towards her.

 _‘Soon my Storm,’_ she thought, grip tightening and eyes glowing with power. _‘You will be free.’_

They clashed in a fury of sparks.


	12. Of Fighting Fish and Explaining Flames

Fighting Arlong was… hard to describe.

On one hand, he kept trying to _bite_ her, of all things, and while she knew his bite was insanely strong, as demonstrated by him breaking a stone pillar when he bit it, it was also extremely annoying. Seriously, if he knew what she was, then shouldn’t he also know how good she naturally was at dodging shit trying to kill her!?

On the other hand however, it was one of the tougher fights she’d been in since she set sail. Sure Arlong was nowhere near being as strong as any of Ace’s crew mates or his Captain, not even _close_ , but he was still strong and giving her a proper fight. One where she actually had to _focus_ to not be hurt.

The stab to her shoulder during her fight with… somebody she didn’t remember (something about balls and meeting Nami... whatever) didn’t count, because she distinctly remember being distracted by some guy on a wheel that was fighting Zoro, so there.

She blocked another bite with her swords, the fishman’s strong jaw still nothing compared to the metal of the Underworld mixed with Black Steel, throwing Arlong away from her with a push. She charged at him, aiming a swing at the fishman’s leg with one sword, the other coming up to slice his chest.

Arlong avoided both of them with relative ease, throwing a punch at her own chest in retaliation which she gracefully avoided with a spin, using the momentum to kick at him. He caught her shin just in time, pulling the leg slightly to bite it and she bent her spin to place her hands on the ground, pulling both her leg and Arlong into the air in a show of flexibility and strength, basically throwing the fishman away from her by swinging her legs forward so quickly he couldn’t keep his hold.

He smashed into the wall of the eight story building that was his base, crashing through the wood with ease. She rightened herself so she was facing the hole in the wall, waiting.

It didn’t take long, Arlong bursting from the building in a cry of rage and a weapon in his hand. It was about four feet long with six triangular blades coming out of one side.

“It’s the Saw Blade,” she heard Nami whisper as she blocked the horizontal swing, not expecting the uppercut that sent her flying into the upper levels of the building. She groaned slightly, shaking her head to get rid of the ringing and looked around. Her eyes widened and rage gathered in her gut.

Maps. The room was covered in maps, the walls, the ceiling, the desk, _everywhere_.

 _‘This was her room,’_ she realised in horror as Arlong jumped up to stand in the hole she had created when she crashed through the wall. _‘This was her_ **_Prison_** _.’_

“Shahahaha!” Arlong laughed, likely taking her shadowed eyes as a sign of fear. “What’s the matter? To hurt? Shahahaha!”

“This room,” she whispered, eyes still shadowed as she stood up. “What is it?”

“Why this is the room where I had Nami draw all of her sea charts for me,” Arlong answered, underestimating her despite knowing what she was. Fool. “She is too good for scum like you! She belongs to me and I will use her to bring about the Mighty Arlong Empire!”

“‘Use her’?” she echoed, shadows twisting ominously as her eyes began to glow _black_. “ _Use her!?”_ she hissed again, head snapping up and allowing the fishman to see her glowing eyes.

He flinched.

“NAMI IS _MINE!”_ she roared, power exploding from from her form and sending Arlong flying out of the building and hard into the ground. “She is _My_ friend, _My_ Navigator, _My_ **_Nakama!_** _”_ she was standing in the hole in the wall and glaring down at the fishman, Divine power glowing in her eyes. “And she will never again be your _slave_.”

Arlong got out of the him-shaped crater in the ground, finally seeming to get what he had angered if the look in his eyes were anything to go by.

“Oh yeah?” he panted, looking slightly nervous but still not knowing to keep his mouth shut. “How so?”

She smirked, leaping into the air and twisting around so she was facing the building. She drew her swords into an ‘X’ in front of her chest, muscles tensing.

“Like _this_!” she roared, swinging the swords downwards towards the structure with all her might, sending almost invisible purple lines into the air. The lines hit the building, the same lines appearing all over it in a glowing checker pattern. Everyone held their breath as the lines fainted into nothing and waited.

And waited.

The sounds of wood groaning filled the air and the building began to collapse as it broke apart in big square chunks.

She hit the ground facing the dumbstruck Arlong, swords spread out to the sides and legs crouched low. Her eyes opened and she stood up, staring at the fishman with still black eyes as his base collapsed behind her, daring him to do _anything_.

Arlong just kept on gaping, everybody else still conscious doing the same thing as she took a glance around to see how her crewmates were.

Zoro was leaning against the wall, his bandages bloody but otherwise fine, Sanji also against the wall and Usopp looking through a hole in it and gaping at her, Zoro and Sanji looking very surprised.

 _“You…”_ her gaze returned to Arlong calmly, the fishman shaking in rage. “You little _BRAT!”_

She sidestepped the blind launch with ease, elbow coming down and hitting him hard in the back, sending him to the ground. She glanced at him.

“I won’t kill you,” she spoke softly but firmly, her voice carrying over everyone easily. “That is not for me nor anyone else here to do.”

She ignored the villagers' protesting as she walked towards what had once been the entrance, turning around to look at Arlong again once she was there, Sourushīkā clasped between her hands and pointing towards the ground.

“That honor,” she began loudly, silencing everyone as Arlong got up and stared at her with wide, fearful eyes. “Goes to the Dead!”

She plunged the sword into the ground, cracks forming from where it had struck as pulsing lines of black began to spread across the ground.

 **“Come to me, Oh those that have been wronged,”** she rasped out in the rattling sounds that made up the Language of the Dead, head snapping up to stare at Arlong again as she yelled the last part of the command. **“And take revenge on the one that ended your lives!”**

A skeletal hand shot out of the ground.

She heard those behind her gasp as more hands burst through the concrete ground, pushing the stone away effortlessly as the dead pulled themselves out of the ground, the rag clad skeletons all moving towards Arlong once they were fully out, jaws hanging open.

Said fishman was stumbling back, fearfully staring as the skeletons of those he had killed so carelessly came towards him.

“No,” he uttered, unable to get away because of the ones coming up behind him. “No, no, NO! Get away from me you human scum!”

“What you have done has come back to haunt you, Fishman Arlong,” she muttered, staring impassibly as the fishman tried to swipe the dead away. “Do you honestly think they will listen to you?”

Arlong didn’t get to answer, many of the skeletons all stabbing swords through his body at the same time, making his last sight that of rotting bones and black eyes.

She turned towards the villagers as the dead crumbled into dust now that their purpose had been fulfilled, smiling slightly at their shocked and slightly awed faces, her eyes back to normal. Well, as normal as they had ever been, but still.

“Nami,” she muttered, letting Sourushīkā dissolve into the shadows. “Can I have my hoodie back now?”

Nami gaped at her.

* * *

 

“Damn it, why isn’t this working?!” she blinked, taking the bottle from her lips and turning to look towards the furious whisper.

It had been about a day since Arlong had been defeated and the party that had been throw was still going strong, the residentes of Cocoyashi village unable to express their gratefulness in any other way.

There had of course been some questions about ‘How the hell did you _do_ that!?’ but she had answered every question by kindly but firmly telling them that only her crew were allowed to know that.

It didn’t stop them from asking, but it did discourage most of them.

Anyway, she moved towards the owner of the whisper silently, sticking to the shadows to walk up behind the camera wielding marine, who was glaring at the photo in his hands angrily.

“Why the hell do they keep being so blurry?!”

She hummed, scaring the marine shitless and making him turn around, smirking at his scared expression. “What are you doing here, hmm~?” she asked gleefully. “Taking photos of me? Flattering, but I’m afraid you won’t be able to get a good one at the moment. What to do, what to do?” she clicked her fingers, grinning widely at the terrified marine. “Oh, _I_ know.”

Then she grabbed his head with a Mist covered hand.

It took a bit, since the guy had apparently been apart of the rat’s squad and had therefore seen her fight with Arlong, but eventually she replaced all his memories of her with her male form and gave him a Mist constructed photo of her as a guy that would disappear when it wasn’t needed anymore before sending the dazed marine on his merry way to send the photo to his superiors.

She then went back to the party, excited to see what name the Government would put on her wanted poster.

Hopefully something cool.

The days went by as the party continued and everyone healed up, but eventually the Grim Pack Pirates, as she had suggested they be called and the crew accepted, were ready to once again set sail and continue their journey to the Grand Line, the only one missing their orange haired navigator.

“Justine!” she perked up, turning to look at her navigator, who was standing about 200 feet away, showing off her new tattoo proudly. “Set sail!”

She grinned, turning to her crew. “You heard her!” she called. “Let’s go!”

“She’s gonna leave without letting us thank her!” one of the villagers yelled and then they all tried to stop her, to no avail. The orange haired girl rushed through the crowd, passing by each person once before she reached the edge of the docks and leapt off as hard as she could.

She grinned, moving to hang off the side of the Merry so she could catch the navigator just before she hit the water, hauling her onto the ship with ease.

Then the thief turned to her village and lifted up her shirt, allowing many, many wallets to fall out of it.

She laughed at the angry goodbye calls her navigator got after that, grinning from ear to ear as her ship sailed away to sea.

Then someone coughed behind her and she turned around, blinking at her crew’s pointed looks. She sighed, because right, she’d promised to explain, hadn’t she?

“Come on,” she said, walking towards the galley. “This is gonna take a while.”

* * *

 

After allowing the crew to bombard her with questions for a little over an hour things had finally calmed down and they had reached the two questions she was dreading the most.

“What are those flames?” Nami asked, all of them staring at her intently.

She sighed, taking a sip of her tea and wondering how to best explain it. Then she pulled up her hood and let the Mist twist.

He used the five minutes of Sanji freaking out to come up with a sort of plan before finally setting down his cup and silencing the crew.

“Everyone has Flames,” he began, his toneless voice surprising his cook slightly. “Not everyone can access them of course, but everyone has them. They are, in simple terms, the energy your Soul produces.” he held up a hand, silencing the crew. “Let me finish explaining before you ask anymore questions.”

They nodded.

“There are seven types of Flames one can have depending on your personality, each with its own ability.” he took a breath. “Storm Flames are red and have the power of Disintegration. Sky Flames are orange and have the power of Harmony.” he sped up. “Sun Flames, yellow, Activation. Lightning Flames, green, Hardening. Rain Flames, blue, Tranquility. Mist Flames, indigo, Construction. And lastly, Cloud Flames, purple, Propagation.”

He let his hand light up in purple and indigo fire, allowing his crew to look at them more closely. “It is possible to have more then one Flame as your Primary, even if it isn’t exactly common. I myself have three Flames, though I rarely use one of them,” he held up his hand. “As you can see, I have Mist and Cloud Flames.”

Zoro eyed the Flames before looking at his shadowed face. “What does that entail?” he grunted.

“My Cloud Flames allow me to multiply things, be it my strength or my blood,” he answered, his Flames disappearing. “However, I don’t use most of the time for anything other than to make sure I don’t bleed out, or to help along healing and the like. I just don't see the point in making myself stronger if I am already strong enough without help.” he informed them blandly, watching Zoro nod in approval with a small smile.

“My Mist…” he sighed, leaning back in his chair. “My Mist allows me to make illusions and play tricks on the mind,” he gave them all a sharp look, even if they couldn’t see it. “I will be blunt with you. I have used this ability on you, but _only_ ,” he stressed, letting emotions into his voice briefly to strike his point home before pulling them back as he began to talk again. “To make sure you didn’t get distracted during a fight or to make you put things in the back of your minds to think about later. I have never, nor will I ever, mess with the minds of my crew for anything more than that. The only other thing I have done is put triggers in your heads to make you forget anything I’ve ever told you about the Dead should you ever be forced to tell it to someone else.”

They all looked angry to some degree, because who wouldn’t be angry about someone messing with their heads, but surprisingly it was Usopp who asked the obvious question.

“Why?” the sniper ground out, hands balled into fists.

He sighed, resting his head in his hands. “Because if I don’t, then there’s a high chance of you guys getting struck by lightning and killed.”

Usopp and Nami jerked back, their eyes wide, while Sanji and Zoro only raised their eyebrows.

“WHAT!” the two weaker members screamed, staring at him in horror.

He chuckled quietly, even if there was nothing funny about the situation. “I’m afraid the fact the Dead walk behind us is a secret that is not told lightly and the only reason you are even allowed to know it is because you are on my crew,” he explained, taking his head out of his hands and looking at them all. “I understand why you are angry, believe me, I do, so I won’t try to make what I have done seem less bad. I betrayed your trust before I even had it and I won’t apologise for it, but I will remove the triggers if you wish it and take the punishment.”

They looked stricken, all staring at him in disbelief.

“Why on earth would you do that?” Nami asked, utterly surprised.

He smiled.

“Because come hell or high water, your are Mine. All Clouds are possessive of their territory and I am no exception, even if my territory is not a place, but people,” he told them softly, never once taking his eyes off their faces. “It doesn’t matter if you leave the crew and never come back, I will always see you as Mine. And I protect what is Mine, even if it means I have to fight a god to do it.”

He was silent, letting them digest the information. He knew it would take a while for their trust in him to fully return, he had known that since he put those triggers in them, but he didn’t care. He would rather tell them now where the trust could be rebuilt then keep quiet about it and have it come back to bite him in the arse.

“So you’re saying,” he heard Usopp say quietly, making him turn to look him in the eyes, allowing him to see the conviction slowly building in them. “That if I want to keep being able to take comfort in the knowledge that my mother still watches over me, then I have to have this… trigger in my head?”

He nodded. “Basically.”

His sniper took a deep breath and gave him a small grin. “Then I’m fine with it. It’s only if I get forced to talk, right?”

He nodded again, cocing his head. “Now, yes. When I first met you I made a manual one too, but I removed it completely once you joined the crew,” he shrugged at his gaping. “I had to know you were really on the crew before before I could safely remove it.”

Usopp shook his head. “Alright, that’s a bit unsettling, but it’s gone now so it doesn’t matter, right?” he smiled softly. “Then so long as you don’t mess too much with my head, I don’t mind it staying.”

“Yeah, same here,” Nami said, smiling softly at him. “It’ll take a bit for me to trust you fully again, but I understand.”

Sanji said the same thing, but not before kicking him in the head. He blinked, looking at the chef with a raised eyebrow.

“You do realise I only feel pain once a month, right?” he questioned tonelessly. “And that I am a woman during that time?”

Sanji gaped at him in horror as he turned to Zoro, waiting for his answer.

The swordsman stared up at him with a blank face for a long time.

Then he sighed.

“You’re my Captain,” he said gruffly, shifting a bit. “I respect you as that and as a fellow swordsman, but if you ever mess with my head again, then I’m cutting you up. Deal?” he ended with a glare, making him smile and nod. “Deal.”

There was silent for a bit before Nami clapped her hands together.

“Well, now that that’s over with,” she claimed, turning to him with a slight glare. “How the hell can you summon the dead!?”

He blinked.

“Oh, that? I’m a Demigod.”

Their reactions amused him greatly.

* * *

 

It was two days after they had left Cocoyashi village. The sun was shining, the sea was calm, and he was just enjoying the peace when it was abruptly broken by a scream.

He shot up, Shadow Traveling to Nami, who was the one that had screamed and was holding a piece of paper tightly.

“What’s going on!?” Usopp exclaimed, also running over to them with Sanji and Zoro not far behind.

“LOOK!” she screeched, shoving the paper in his face. He blinked, pushing the hand back and looking at the paper calmly, a smirk decorating his lips when he saw what had made Nami scream.

There, in big bold letters under a picture, were the words; 'Monkey D. Justin, The Dark Necromancer.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you Calypso_Major for helping me come up with Justin's name :)
> 
> Edit: Sorry if this confuses anyone, old or new readers, but it was diving me crazy. I gave Justin the name 'Son of Death' because it was literally one of the first things that popped into my head after reading Calypso_Majors suggestions, and because I didn't want to go with my first choice because I thought it was bad. Well, I've changed my mind, so from now on until the Marines finally realise what he actually is, he will have a different 'title'.
> 
> P.S: Sorry I haven't updated in a while, I'm not dead, I'm just having trouble with how I get from where we are now to Little Garden.


	13. Of New Bounties and Different Views

He studied the picture of his Captain’s wanted poster after it had been handed to him, surprised at the fact his Captain was clearly _male_ in the photo, despite the fact the only time they had come across any Marines where at Arlong Park, where Justin… Justine... fuck (why was this so confusing!?) had been threatened by a Marine resembling a rat.

The picture was of his Captain from the side while he was leaning against a wall, making it look like he was leaning against the left side of the poster, his head bowed slightly and his hood casting a shadow across his face, leaving only his mouth, which had a small trail of black smoke come from the corner, visible. His Captain’s hand was raised up in front of his face, the appendage lit up in purple flames, his bracelet stuck on the edge of his sleeve and his face completely impassive. The picture was also cropped so that you could clearly see the top of his chest (which was flat and therefore showed that he was a guy) and his entire head, even if the edge was right above it.

It made him look extremely dangerous, right alongside his 30 million Beri bounty and his new title as the ‘Dark Necromancer’, which after the bombshell Justin had dropped on them about his parentage and what said parentage gave him the ability to do made him snort because at least the Marines got one thing right about him. Speaking of which.

“Hey Justin,” he called, making the man turn towards him silently. He held up the poster. “Why the hell are you a guy in this? Weren’t you a girl at the Park?”

His Captain cocked his head, a minuscule smile on his face that disappeared almost as quickly as it came. “I was,” he agreed tonelessly, leaning against the railing with his hands in his pockets. “But I caught the guy that was trying to take a usable picture of me for the wanted poster and… helped him along.”

“Why would he need help in the first place?” the cook asked, looking torn between being annoyed at their Captain and swooning over him. Right, the cook loved women and Justin had been a woman when he first met him, which meant he probably didn’t know what to think of him now.

The Captain hummed. “While I take my hood down when I am female, I still don’t really show my face. I put up an illusion around it that make it impossible to accurately pinpoint my features. You can still see that I have a pretty face, but you can’t really see it, so I made photo using my Mist and gave that to him.”

He frowned, thinking back on his time with his then female Captain and blinked when he found out he was right. He knew his Captain was a looker when he was a girl, knew that his hair was dark and his eyes clear, but other than that he didn’t know a damn thing. Anytime he had tried to look more closely at the woman, her face had always been slightly out of focus. Not enough to make her unrecognisable, but enough to obscure her features.

“Why on earth would you do that?” Nami asked, completely bewildered. “I’ve seen what you look like, even if it was brief, and if I had a face like that I’d be showing it off all the time!”

Justin was quiet, reaching up to tug his hood down.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” he mumbled, staring out at the sea. There was an awkward silence for a bit as their quiet Captain became even quieter.

“Alright, well,” Usopp said, trying to break the silence. “Why didn’t you just pull up your hood and let the guy take a picture then?”

Justin’s face remained the same as he tonelessly said, “I want to be able to troll people.”

They all just stared at him.

“YOU WANT TO WHAT!?” Usopp and Nami finally exclaimed, dumbfounded.

“Troll people,” he repeated, completely serious. “After all, what better prank is there then suddenly turning into a girl while wearing Seastone when you were clearly a guy before?” they sat there for a bit, slowly taking in the fact that their emotionless acting Captain apparently likely to prank people.

“But if you don’t find that reasoning good enough,” he said, his utterly flat voice only adding to the absurdity of the situation. “You can always just focus on the fact that it’s a great way to disguise myself.”

Nami thought it over before nodding, accepting the least bewildering reason.

Justin looked back at the wanted poster, seemingly studying it.

“Besides, I didn’t want my first wanted poster to be of my female form,” he said, still staring at the picture. “I may be genderfluid, but I do prefer being a guy most of the time.”

Nami sighed, patted the Captain on the shoulder and went back to what she had been doing before.

* * *

 

Sanji didn’t know want to think of his new Captain.

On one hand, he was beautiful as a woman, even if you couldn’t truly see it, and he had clearly stated that he was genderfluid and therefore it wasn’t just his body that changed, but his mind and soul as well. On the other hand, as a man his Captain was completely different than the Goddess that had asked him to join her crew, the open and strong willed woman gone in favour  of a quietly dangerous man seemingly incapable of showing even the slightest hint of emotion.

He couldn’t kick him either, because he wouldn’t be able to feel it until his… period (damn that was weird, thinking of a _guy_ going on a period) and during that time he would be a woman, which meant he would indirectly be responsible for her pain, which was something he couldn’t stand.

But the guy was just so… so inexplicably _infuriating_ and charismatic that the urge to kick him was almost impossible to ignore. But if he did that he’d be hurting a lady and… _fuck!_

Sanji grit his teeth around the cigarette in his mouth, furiously chopping the vegetables in front of him.

“You don’t like it, do you?”

He jerked, turning his head to look behind him at Justin, who was standing in the door with his hands in his pockets.

“Like what?” he shot out, annoyed.

Justin cocked his head, his unseen eyes somehow clearly looking at his hands.

“The fact I change gender. You don’t like it,” he looked at his face. “Why?”

His hands stopped and he turned to face the object of his confusion.

“I don’t… It’s not that I don’t like it, it just… confuses me,” he explained, taking a breath of smoke. “I have always thought that women were God’s gift to men and that they should be treated accordingly. That hasn’t changed, but now you’re here and changing your gender around like it’s nothing and I-”

“And you don’t know how to handle it.”

He jerked again, his Captain now the beautiful if slightly unfocused woman she had been when he first met her, staring at him with her arms crossed.

“Yes,” he admitted, ignoring the urge to swoon over the woman for now. “I know that you will sometimes be a woman, sometimes a man, but that makes it very confusing for me because when you’re a man I feel the urge to kick you sometimes, but you won’t feel it until… you know.”

Justine nodded, looking at him thoughtfully.

“I can see the problem,” she began slowly. “But to be honest with you, I don’t want special treatment, male or female.” she held up a hand when he went to protest. “I understand that you want to treat me that way when I am a woman, so I am fine with it. Just as I am fine with you treating me like a man when I am one.” she smiled at him, eyes soft. “I may change gender, but that doesn’t mean I want to be treated like anything other than what I am at that moment. If I’m a man, treat me like one. If I’m a woman, treat me like one. It’s as simple as that.”

He stared at her until she pulled up her hood and her chest went flat, showing he was now a man.

“So, what, I just treat you like I would any other man?”

Justin shrugged, small smirk on his face. “Works for me.”

He nodded. “Alright then.”

Then he started shouting. “NOW GET THE HELL OUT OF MY KITCHEN!”

His Captain left the room, quiet chuckles following his retreat and, for some reason, making him smile.

He knew it would take a while, maybe forever, for him to truly get used to having a gender switching Captain, but for now, this would have to do.

* * *

 

He walked along the streets of Loguetown, uncaring of the fact someone could recognise him, and looked for the famed execution platform Roger had lost his life on. Mostly because he wanted to talk to the man again after so long and the Dead tended to be weirdly sentimental about the place they died, enough so that they sometimes visited it again. It was a weird quirk, one he never got a solid answer to no matter how many times he asked, but it gave him a chance to talk to Roger and right now, that was all that mattered.

It took him a bit, mainly because he didn’t know anything about the town, but eventually he found the platform, sighing lightly when he spotted Roger standing right at the top.

He gave the late Pirate King an exasperated look but still covered himself in Mist and started climbing up the ladder to talk to the old D.

 _“Little Prince,”_ the dead man greeted him with a grin, a bottle of booze in hand.

 **“Roger,”** he acknowledged, sitting next to the man. **“What has happened in the world?”**

The King laughed and started telling him about what Ace and Shanks had been up to, making him smile at some of the pranks his brother had pulled and laugh at Shanks’ antics.

“Hey, you!” he looked to the ground calmly, absentmindedly noting he had been too distracted by his talk with Roger, who was now gone, to notice he had released his Mist. “Get down from there! You’re standing on the property of the World Government!”

He inclined his head. “I apologise. I did not know it was against the law.”

The Marine sighed. “Just get down.”

He nodded again, moving to stand up and get down, before the Marine that had shouted at him was batted away by a big iron club wielded by a slim woman with black hair.

“I’ve been looking for you, Monkey D. Justin,” he looked calmly at the woman, wondering what she wanted. “It’s been a while.”

He stared blankly at her. “I have no idea who you are.”

“You really don’t remember me?” she asked, looking slightly hurt. “I certainly remember you. After all, you were the first man to ever hit me.”

“I’ve hit a lot of people,” he told her, still clueless as to who she was. “What makes you think you’re the only woman in that category?”

“Maybe this will jog your memory then,” she said, cupping her face with the hand not holding her club. “Tell me boys, who is the fairest woman to sail the sea?”

“You are Madam!”

He raised an eyebrow. “Still don’t know who you are.”

Now the woman looked frustrated. “I am Iron Mace Alvida!”

He cocked his head.

“Who?” he asked tonelessly.

The woman was thunderstruck, gaping up at him with wide eyes. He opened his mouth to say something more but quickly jumped to the side instead, narrowly missing the wooden stockade that would have captured his head and arms if he hadn’t moved.

He raised an eyebrow at the guy that had tried to capture him, who was for some reason dressed like a clown, staring down at him with his forever blank face.

The clown leapt up, daggers in hand as he started talking, “Damn you, you brat! I, Buggy the Clown, sentence you to death! So die!” the guy launched himself at him.

He calmly reached out and grabbed his throat, the bracelet on his wrist forcing the guy’s hand, which had been flying at him separate from his body, to return to its rightful place on his arm as it blocked his Devil Fruit powers. He cocked his head, staring at the struggling man.

“Who in the Underworld are you?”

The man froze, gaping at him along with the woman from before and a bunch of Pirates now on the ground.

“I… I just told you who I was! How the hell do you not remember me!? I stabbed you in the shoulder!”

He just continued to stare at the man. “Why would that matter to me? I can’t feel pain.”

“Oi, Justin!” he turned his head, spotting Zoro, Sanji, Usopp and Nami all standing together and looking up at him. “Get down from there and get to the ship! There’s a storm coming!”

He nodded, carelessly throwing the man in his hold off the platform, he himself placing his foot on the edge and pushing off, launching himself over to his crew. He landed with a tuck-and-roll, rightening himself as soon as he was on his feet.

“Let’s go,” he ordered, sparing a brief glance at the giant fish Usopp was carrying and Zoro’s new swords but ignoring them for now, focusing on running instead. His crew followed him, though he had to slow down a bit to make it possible for Usopp and Nami to do so.

He really needed to get them to train some more.

A small, pretty sadistic smirk threatened to appear on his face but he pushed it away.

“You there!” someone yelled behind them in a gruff voice. “Dark Necromancer!”

He turned around, skidding a bit on the rain covered ground as he stopped, Zoro doing the same beside him while the rest of the crew ran towards the Merry.

In front of them was a broad shouldered white haired man wearing a Marine cape with two large cigars in his mouth and even more on his person. The Marine glared down at them, gnawing on the cigars. “I am Captain Smoker of the Marines. You and your crew are under arrest, Necromancer. Please come quietly.”

He cocked his head, vaguely noting Zoro pulling out his swords and defending himself against a woman that looked like a grown up version of Kuina as he stared at the Marine.

“No,” he said tonelessly, his answer obviously displeasing the Marine. When he didn’t do anything to attack the Marine took initiative and did it instead, his body turning into smoke and shooting at him. He curled his hand into a fist and, once it was close enough, threw a hard punch at the smoke.

A face appeared where he hit, the Seastone on his wrist forcing the Logia to become solid, and Smoker was thrown to the side and through a building. Probably several, actually.

He did this without once moving anything other than his arm. He let the arm drop and turned on his heel, running back to the Merry, though not before nodding to his father, who gave a nod in response.

He quickly made it to the docks, meeting Zoro on the way and, seeing Merry out on the sea, picked up his swordsman before he could really protest and leapt off the docks and through the air towards his ship.

He landed on it with a thud, straightening and putting Zoro on the deck, turning to look at Loguetown one last time before looking at his crew.

“Is everything tied down?” he asked Nami, who nodded in response. “Sails, food, water?”

“All good Captain,” Sanji said, making him nod and look towards the faint light he could see through the storm.

“This is it!” Nami told them with a laugh as she spotted it too. “The entrance to the Grand Line is somewhere up ahead!”

He smirked slightly, turning to look behind him when he heard something get placed on the deck. He raised an eyebrow at the barrel, cocking his head in question at Usopp.

The sniper just grinned and placed his foot on the barrel.

“To be a Brave Warrior of the Sea!” he yelled, Sanji grinning at the kid and also placing his foot on the barrel.

“To find the All Blue!”

A black clad foot. “To be the World’s Greatest Swordsman!”

A slim foot. “To draw a map of the entire world!”

They all looked at him, waiting.

He cocked his head, staring at his crew. His Territory. His _Nakama._

And smiled. Big and bright and happy as he placed his own foot on the barrel.

“To become King of the Pirates, the Freest on the Seas!”

They cheered and broke the barrel, smile still painting his lips.


	14. Of Getting Closer and Giant Whales

“When we get to the Grand Line,” he deadpanned as he stared down the panting sniper and navigator laying on the floor after they had escaped Loguetown. “You two are going to train until you drop. Am I clear?”

His reply was two choked wheezes.

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

Zoro snorted, making him glance at the swordsman and smirk slightly. “You’re going to help, Zoro.”

The man blinked in surprise before scowling at him. “Why?” he grumbled.

He rolled his shoulder as he looked to the ceiling. “Because there is a high chance of Usopp awakening his Flames because of the training, and if he does, then I have to focus on him until he get a hang of them and doesn’t kill us all by accident,” he looked blandly at the sniper, who was now looking at him with wide eyes. “From what I can tell, you’re a Sunny-Mist, which would make it very easy for you to render us all brain-dead if you don’t know how to control yourself. I could be wrong of course, but it's still likely.”

The sniper’s face went through a myriad of emotions ranging from horror to excitement before finally settling on a combination of curious and worried. “Alright, that’s cool I guess, but why do I have a high chance of awakening me Flames and Nami doesn’t?” Nami looked like she wanted an answer to that as well, if her glare was anything to go by.

“Because you have to be below a certain age to unlock them that way,” he deadpanned. “And Usopp is currently the only one aboard who is young enough for his Flames to awaken the ‘traditional’ way, which is what will happen during the training.”

Usopp looked slightly apprehensive. “What’s the ‘traditional way’?”

He imagined his small smirk didn’t inspire confidence.

“A life or death situation that forces the Flames to come out in a rush and keep you alive against all odds.”

The boy fainted.

* * *

 

“So that’s Reverse Mountain?” he mumbled eight days later, staring at the massive mountain before them with a blank face, because honestly, a giant mountain with water somehow running  _ up _ it was nothing compared to the giant clusterfuck of Weird Shit that made up his first life and the one he was living now. Case in point, having a mother so powerful she could literally make gods cover in fear of facing her wrath.

The thought of his mother brought a small smile to his face. How he missed the loving curses she threw at him and his siblings whenever she happened upon him and Melody chasing down Gabriel to get Anastasia’s wheelchair back from the crazy Rider, with said little sister watching them with exasperation and now doubt debating whether or not to let Lavinia out so  _ she _ could get it back for her. Which would usually end in mother deciding she needed to be drunk to deal with them and stealing Gabriel’s booze from Chica, downing the deadly liquid in one go and then coming after them with fire in her eyes and on her sword, her mouth open in a constant stream of swear words. (Some they miraculously didn’t know but most already ingrained in their memories, because the woman was of the firm opinion that it was completely pointless to censor one’s language around small children since they were going to learn them some way or another. Might as well give them a head start and some damn good ones.)

Good times.

He was brought out of his trip down memory lane by Nami screaming something incoherent at the rest of the crew, making him turn his head slightly to look at the navigator from his place standing on Merry’s figurehead.

“What’s wrong Nami?” he asked dully, wondering what had shocked his navigator this time.

“THERE’S A DAMN STORM COMING!” the woman screeched at him. “EVERYONE GET THEIR ASSES DOWN HERE AND HELP!”

He sighed, moving off his so far favourite spot to go to his navigator, the rest of his crew all waiting for commands.

“How far away is it?” he inquired, looking at the orange haired woman.

Nami heaved a breath. “About five minutes,” she answered grimly, lips set in a line.

He nodded, before taking his hands out of his pockets and barking out orders. “Sanji, the sails. Zoro and Usopp, tie everything down. Nami, make sure we stay on course,” as he talked his crew leapt to obey him, the cook pulling up the sails, the swordsman and sniper making sure the things on the deck didn’t go flying, and the navigator, dressed in a yellow raincoat along with the others, staying in the galley and keeping the rudder steady. Though he had to go down and help her once the storm really hit and the waves started getting too strong for her to fight.

Soon they were riding the current leading to the East Blue entrance of Reverse Mountain, which gave them all room to breath as they sailed closer and closer to the Grand Line.

“You know,” he turned, looking at Zoro as the swordsman stared at the mountain. “I didn’t believe it was actually real at first.”

He hummed, a ghost of a smirk on his lips. “I don’t think many do.”

Zoro scoffed and glanced at him, leaning on the railing while he leaned against the wall. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”

They stayed there for a bit in comfortable silence as the current carried them and the storm raged around them, trying to throw the small caravel away without any success.

“You said…” he looked at Zoro again, the swordsman’s expression slightly unsure. “You said we couldn’t awaken our Flames the way Usopp could, right? The ‘traditional way’.”

He nodded, already having an idea of what his First Mate would ask him.

“Does that mean there’s even a way for the rest of us to awaken them?”

He studied his swordsman for a while, only answering just as they were about to go up the mountain. “There is.”

His monotone answer made Zoro’s head snap up form it’s hanging position, the teen’s steely eyes slightly wide. He didn’t get to ask anything else however, because at that moment the ship reached the entrance and started shooting up the mountain at high speeds.

He smiled softly at his crew’s shouts of excitement and wonder as he moved to stand on the figurehead to gaze towards the very tip of the mountain.

“We’re going through the clouds!” Usopp yelled excitedly, grinning widely. And they were.

The ship broke through the layer of white and kept going, moving towards the summit. Towards the Grand Line.

He grinned widely, even if his crew couldn’t see it, and didn’t even try to keep his hood from being blow off his head, the wind now moving freely through his hair and messing the already messy strands up even more. The icy air had no effect on him as it assaulted the pale skin of his hollow cheeks and his sharp eyes, the powerful magic flowing through his veins, even Reincarnated, preventing the cold from harming him in any way.

Soon the ship reached the tip, flying into the air and nearly flipping before it went down the only stream going down. The one going to the Grand Line. And as him and his crew, his Nakama, His Territory, came closer and closer to their Dreams, he couldn’t contain himself any longer.

He  _ laughed _ . He laughed and laughed, big and bright and full of joy and excitement. The kind of laugh he hadn’t uttered since he was so very, very  _ young _ and yet so impossibly  _ old _ at the same time. Before he truly grasped how dangerous and unfair the world could be, even to him and his seemingly all powerful and untouchable family. Before he gained the scars, both visible and hidden, that made him who he was today.

Before the Old Tales became true and he was forced to leave his world behind so he could one day help save it.

His laugh dwindled as he was reminded of why he was even here, why he was sailing an impossible path to an even more impossible sea, and his eyes hardened as fast as white hot metal being shoved into icy water.

It wasn’t all fun and games, he mused as he pulled his hood back up, because no matter how many years he seemingly had, it would be but a blink in the story of his life, of his impossibly and torturously long existence. A blink that would no doubt stand out in his memories, but a blink nonetheless.

His head turned at the sounds of wonder coming from behind him, and he smiled at the sight of his crew. A blink it may become one day, but damn if he wasn’t going to make it the best years of his life.

So he cheered in his own quiet way along with His as they came one step closer to achieving their Dreams.

That is, until a sound not unlike that of a foghorn, only much loud, came from somewhere in front of them.

* * *

 

He had seen many things in his life.

This included: His brother going mad, his sister somehow turning into a giant if polite pervert, a human hating being living in his other sister’s head, his mother beating the ever-loving shit out of a god and many, many more unbelievable things.

He was not to proud to admit this was the first time he had seen a whale the size of a mountain. It was also the first time he had ever been eaten by a whale. Or any animal for that matter.

And he was… not entirely sure what to do. Oh sure, he could just kill the thing, but doing so would probably be a bad idea. Not because of his Uncle or anything like that, oh no.

It was because (no matter how hard he tried to deny it) he  _ hated _ being the reason the dead had to watch the ones they loved die. The more dead that followed that person, the worse it got.

(If it was a living person, then he didn’t give two shits about killing their loved ones. People are born, they live, and then they die. Tough shit, deal with it. (Like he had been doing for far too long.))

So when what had to be at least sixty Pirates appeared on the deck of the Merry when Zoro suggested they kill the whale, all glaring at the green haired swordsman, he quietly let his conscious win over his common sense and flatly told the swordsman, “No, we can’t kill the whale.”

The crew stared at him in disbelief, which he ignored in favour of looking around. He blinked. Why was there a clear blue sky with fluffy clouds over them? Why was the sea green? Why…?

“Why is there an island inside of a whale?”

“Wait, what?!”

The crew all turned to where their Captain was looking, all of them showing some level of disbelief when they saw the small island with a house on it floating in the green sea. Then their view was suddenly blocked by something very big and very  _ pink _ .

“Giant squid!” Nami and Usopp screamed, while he, Zoro and Sanji all got into positions, ready to defend the ship. They didn’t have to however, because three harpoons suddenly sprouted from the squids head and it fell over, dead as can be.

He cocked his head as a man came out of the house, the transparent form of Roger drawing his gaze almost instantly and making him relax slightly from his subtly tense position.

“I-If you wanna fight, just say so!” he looked at Usopp as the sniper yelled at the flower haired man. “We have cannons!”

“You’d better not or someone will die,” the old man stated, Roger and the pirate crew silently laughing.

“Oh? And just who’re you saying would die?” Sanji asked.

“Me,” came the blunt reply.

He chuckled softly as his crew yelled angrily at the man, walking to stand on the figurehead to get a better look at him and drawing the man’s attention in the process.

“Excuse me, Doctor Crocus,” he said softly, making the man stiffen and look at him in shock. “May I know where we are?”

The man remained tense as his crew gathered behind him, looking at him curiously. Finally he spoke with as slight glare. “When asking someone a question, isn’t it proper manners to give your name first? It seems you already know mine.”

He cocked his head again, a small smile on his face. “You make a valid point Doctor,” he breathed, hiding his amusement behind his blank face. “I am Monkey D. Justin, Captain of the Grim Pack Pirates.” he pointed to his crew. “Roronoa Zoro, my First Mate. Sanji, my cook. Usopp, my sniper, and Nami, my navigator.” he lowered his hand. “And you are Crocus, former Doctor of the Roger Pirates.”

Crocus’ expression didn’t change, though his grip on his newspaper tightened. “You certainly know a lot about me, kid. Who told you?”

He smiled, small and secretive. “Let’s just say I know a D.”

Crocus nodded, probably knowing he wasn’t going to get a better answer. “Did you also know I am the lighthouse keeper here at the Twin Capes, that I am 71 years old, a Gemini and that my blood type is AB?” the old Doctor challenged.

“I knew your age and your occupation,” he answered honestly. “I did not know the rest. Thank you for telling me.” he pause. “I am 17 years old, a Bull and my blood type doesn’t exist.”

Crocus huffed a laugh before pointing to the side. “You are currently inside an island whale. The exit is right over there, if you need it.”

He nodded his thanks as Nami demanded, “Why is there an exit in a whale’s belly?! Why’s the door in the middle of nowhere?”

“It isn’t!” Usopp realised, pointing at the clouds. “Look closely. They’re all painted. It’s all a painting inside the whale’s stomach.”

“Call it a Doctor’s playful mind,” Crocus said.

“You bastard! What the hell are you doing in a whale’s belly anyway!?” Usopp demanded, only to get cut off by an explosion coming from above them and the whale crying out in pain. The loud sound drew their attention to two figures standing on a metal platform the pirates hadn’t noticed before, the man and woman both armed with rocket launchers.

He cocked his head, studying them.

The woman had long light blue hair set in a high ponytail, pale skin and was wearing some sort of zig-zag patterned crop top, while the man had ginger hair, the number nine under each eye and a crown on his head.

All in all, they were strange.

“It seems that wasn’t enough, Ms. Wednesday,” the man commented.

“Indeed not, Mr. 9,” the woman answered as they prepared to shot again.

He was faster, however.

The sound of wood cracking rang out as he launched himself off the Merry, flipping in the air somewhere along the way so that when he landed behind the pair, it was easy to grab their shoulders.

“You know,” he mused, tightening his grip when they tried to twist out of it and leaning his head down so it was between them, the Mist twisting along the way and changing her, her hair spilling out from under her hood and a slightly sadistic grin forming on her face. “If you wanted to say hi, you could have just come aboard. Here, let me help you!”

And with that, she threw the two of them towards the Merry, jumping after the screaming pair not long after, all the while laughing her ass off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before anyone asks, yes, the rest of the crew is going to get Flames and no, Usopp's type/s aren't set in stone. The only one's whose Flames I have already seriously decided on are Nami, Zoro, Chopper and Justin. So if anyone wants to suggest types for the rest of them to have, then you are more than able to do so.
> 
> You don't need to, because I already have a sorta, kinda plan regarding that, so no pressure :) It's only if you want to.
> 
> Hope you like the chapter!
> 
> See Ya - TheGirlyDJ.


	15. Of Singing Songs and Old Wounds

Unfortunately for Sanji, his sudden gender change didn’t last very long and he was soon back to being a guy, much to Crocus’ and the strange pair’s confusion.

“The whale,” he murmured softly, staring straight up at the painted ceiling. “Its hitting its head against the Red Line. Why?”

Crocus sighed and folded his newspaper, looking at him forlornly. And then he told them the story of Laboon, the Island Whale.

By the time the tale was over, Nami was holding back tears and he was seriously contemplating say ‘Screw you’ to his Uncle and showing the two of them that the crew Laboon had been taken in by were dead, but still there with them. In fact, he had just decided to do just that when he noticed the two would-be whale killers trying to sneak away.

“Where do you think you’re doing?” he asked quietly, making the two freeze and turn to him, both of them sweating bullets.

“A-Ah, yes well, we don’t want to be a bother, so we’re just going to leave now and get out of your hair-”

“Stay,” he interrupted, his face and voice blank as ever yet still somehow sounding menacing. “I insist.”

They gulped.

* * *

 

Nami looked at her Captain, who was looking out at Laboon from his place on the cliff, his face as unreadable as ever as they listened to Crocus tell them how Laboon simply couldn’t accept the fact that the pirate crew that took him in was dead.

“I’ve tried telling him,” the old man said, staring forlornly at the whale. “But he won’t listen. He never listens.”

Her Captain continued looked at the whale.

“Anyway,” Crocus sighed. “If you want to travel the Grand Line, you’ll need-”

“Crocus,” Justin cut him off, never moving his gaze away from the whale. “If Laboon was shown proof, undeniable proof, that they were dead, what do you think would happen?”

Crocus stared at the teen for a bit, along with all of them, before answering. “I don’t know. I honestly don’t know.”

Justin nodded and turned his head slightly to look at him. “Then be prepared for the worst,” he stated, before his form seemed to shimmer and he became a she again.

The now woman pulled down her hood, her blurry eyes staring at them all. “Because I’m going to hit him with the truth,” she said grimly before twisting on her heel and marching to the edge of the cliff.

The crew felt their eyes widen. She wasn’t going to…?!

“Laboon!” Justine roared, getting the whale’s attention. Her hands curled into fists. “I know you don’t want to believe it. I know it hurts and I know it’s all you have left, but…” she hung her head, silent for a second before her head snapped up and she glared at the whale. “Your crew is dead! They’re dead and gone and they aren’t coming back!”

Laboon roared back at her, angry, but she stood her ground, her glare softening to something else.

“They’re not coming back,” she said softly but clearly, her voice overpowering his. “Because they’re already here.”

That got Laboon to stop and he looked at her in confusion, Crocus doing the same. The Captain smiled, putting her hands on her hips and leaning towards him slightly.

“This is a secret, so you can’t tell anyone. I can’t really either, but there’s nothing saying I can’t sing you a song to help cheer you up,” the young woman continued grinning. “So brace yourself!”

She took a deep breath.

And music started playing.

They looked around, trying to find the source of the sudden music, but then their Captain started _singing_.

And what a beautiful voice she had.

 

_“The last that ever she saw him, carried away by a moonlight shadow._

_He passed on worried and warning, carried away by a moonlight shadow._

_Lost in a riddle that Saturday night, far away on the other side._

_He was caught in the middle of a desperate fight, and she couldn't find how to push through.”_

 

Justine’s voice rang through the air, a slightly echoey quality to it that made it seem otherworldly as she sang the song to the grieving whale.

 

_“The trees that whisper in the evening, carried away by a moonlight shadow._

_Sing a song of sorrow and grieving, carried away by a moonlight shadow._

_All she saw was a silhouette of a gun, far away on the other side._

_He was shot six times by a man on the run, and she couldn't find how to push through.”_

 

“Look,” Nami whispered in awe, pointing at the wisps of white that were starting to appear around Justine.

“She’s actually doing it,” Zoro stated in shock, his own gaze draw to the wisps that were forming around _them_. “She’s letting us see. She’s letting us all see.”

“See what?!” Crocus demanded, but nobody paid him any mind, to wrapped up in the beautiful voice of their Captain.

 

_“I stay, I pray, see you in heaven far away._

_I stay, I pray, see you in heaven one day.”_

 

The wisps were starting to take shape.

 

_“Four a.m. in the morning, carried away by a moonlight shadow._

_I watched your vision forming, carried away by a moonlight shadow._

_Stars roll slowly in a silvery night, far away on the other side._

_Will you come to terms with me this night, but she couldn't find how to push through._

_I stay, I pray, see you in heaven far away._

_I stay, I pray, see you in heaven one day.”_

 

Crocus gave a choked gasp as people he thought he would never see again started appearing around the dark haired girl, all of them grinning at Laboon and waving.

“How…?” he breathed, turning to look at the girl’s crew and seeing that they also had transparent people standing around them, smiling.

 

_“Far away on the other side.”_

 

 _“Because,”_ his eyes widened and he looked behind him, locking eyes with a grinning Roger. _“She is the Princess of the Underworld. And she has a bleeding heart.”_

“Roger…” he whispered, disbelief colouring his every word.

The Pirate King just laughed and turned to the girl.

 

_“Caught in the middle of a hundred and five._

_The night was heavy and the air was alive, but she couldn't find how to push through._

_Carried away by a moonlight shadow._

_Carried away by a moonlight shadow._

_Far away on the other side, but she couldn't find how to push through.”_

 

The girl closed her eyes and breathed in deeply as the dead faded away again, the Rumbar Pirates all yelling at Laboon to get himself together and stop trying to hurt himself as they disappeared from his view.

The last ghost went away, and left behind a crying island whale and a sadly smiling pirate crew.

Justine smiled at Laboon, pressing her hands to his front.

“I told you so,” she murmured, eyes kind and soft. “They are already here. They will always be here.”

Laboon just continued crying.

* * *

 

He shuddered as his body went back to being a man, though that was all he did to show his discomfort at having to force the change instead of letting it happen automatically whenever he naturally switched genders.

It just wasn’t the same, forcing it as opposed to just letting it happen, but he felt it was well worth it if it got Laboon to stop hurting himself because of his grief. At least now the whale could take closure in the fact his family was always with him, even if he couldn't see them.

He looked up at the still crying whale and a thought came to him.

“You know,” he began softly. “I plan on becoming the King of the Pirates one day. And to do that, I have to travel the entire world.” he cocked his head. “It would be nice to have someone to meet again when we return here.”

Laboon blinked his teary eye at him, though he could see understanding start to appear in them.

He gave the whale one of his rare smiles that wasn’t just a quirk of the lips as he leant back slightly. “Which means you can’t just go wondering about, understand? After all, you never know when we’ll return,” even as his voice remained toneless, he knew that Laboon could hear how serious he was. And the whale smiled as much as a whale can and gave a low, though still loud, sound of agreement.

He nodded and let the smile fall off his face as he turned around, walking back towards his crew.

“Just so you know,” he started when he saw Crocus open his mouth, directing his words at the sky without actually looking at it. “I never told them anything. What I did just now was to help a grieving animal find peace. How am I supposed to know if somebody else saw it? After all, I had my back turned.”

Comprehension appeared on the old Doctor’s face and he nodded, turning back towards the lighthouse.

A rumble of thunder made him look up. “What? Even I am not all seeing.”

He turned to his crew, content on ignoring his prissy Uncle. “Let’s go.”

They all nodded, though Usopp and Nami looked a little sadly at Laboon, but a call of, “Wait!” stopped them and made them look at Crocus curiously.

The man held up what looked like a small glass ball with a floating compass needle in it. “I’m afraid a normal compass won’t work in the Grand Line,” he told them seriously.

He made a questioning noise, looking at the little thing curiously as he listened to Crocus explaining how the Log Pose worked to his navigator.

“Thank you, Doctor,” he said when the explanation was finished. “For all your help. I get the feeling we would have died a few days in if it wasn’t for you.”

Crocus waved him off, wry smile on his lips. “You made Laboon stop hurting himself. I’m just returning the favour.”

He nodded, looking at his crew prepare the Merry for takeoff. “Still, I am grateful for your help. Thanks to you I don’t have to watch them die.”

Crocus looked at him for a good long while at that, his face unreadable until he finally asked, “Tell me boy, why do you refuse to let them in?”

He was silent and Crocus let him be, patiently waiting for an answer.

“Some wounds never fully heal,” he said quietly, tonelessly, never moving from his place looking at his crew.

Crocus hummed. “Ah yes, but even the most gruesome of wounds can become smaller with the right care. It’s just a question of time before you find someone that can help you.”

He didn’t smile. Honestly didn’t think he’d be able to for a while after being reminded of just how broken he was. Of just how much fixing he still needed, even after all these years.

The scars burned even as he remained still, never moving as he answered Crocus’ unspoken question. “Even then, that someone can just turn right back and hurt you even more.”

Crocus didn’t speak again as he started walking towards his crew, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t feel the old Doctor’s burning gaze boring into his back.

He ignored the questioning looks of his crew as he jumped onto the ship, walking straight to Merry’s figurehead and standing in front of it, though not before picking up something his foot bumped into. He stood, facing the sea, as he looked at the small Log Pose in his hand, wondering where it had come from since he knew Nami had the one Crocus gave them.

“Captain?” he hummed in acknowledgement, waiting for Zoro to continue. “We’re ready to sail.”

“I see,” he replied, his voice as dead as ever. “Then let’s go.”

He waited, but Zoro didn’t leave, making him move his head just enough so he could look at him from the corner of his eye.

The swordsman was frowning at him in what could either be frustration or confusion, his arms crossed over his chest. He waited for a bit longer before looking back at the sea.

“What is it, Zoro?” he asked, Log Pose now in his pocket.

He heard Zoro shift a little, his frown no doubt more pronounced then before. “What…” the swordsman trailed off briefly before continuing. “Justin, what the hell's wrong?”

He turned his head again to look at Zoro, the swordsman’s face conflicted.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he replied flatly, making Zoro scowl.

“Bullshit,” the older (no, that was wrong, the boy was younger, so very, very _young_ , still an infant, and he was **_old_ ** ) teen spat, taking a step towards him. “I may not have know you for very long and you may be an impossible to read bastard, but I am the First Mate and I can tell something is wrong.”

He carefully didn’t let what he was feeling show on his face (because to be honest he himself didn’t even know what he was feeling and it scared him) as he turned to the sea once more. “I don’t see why that is any of your conce-”

He didn’t yelp, but it was a near thing when he felt Zoro grab his biceps and quickly slam him against the wall, shifting his grib to his forearms and pinning them as he glared down at him.

“It’s my _concern_ ,” angry, the swordsman was angry, that much was clear in his glare and in the way he hissed out the word. “Because you're my Captain. You're my Captain and my Nakama and I care about you dammit!”

He stared up at the teen, the older (no, young, he’s too young) of them catching his breath as a small blush appeared on his face after he said those words but he pressed on. “I care about you, the crew cares about you, and we want to know what’s wrong so we can help you.”

He kept staring up at him watching him breath in and out before letting his head fall.

“...What makes you think there’s even something wrong?” he murmured, hoping it would be too quiet for him to hear.

The man huffed, grinning wryly at him and crushing his hopes. “Do you think I’m stupid Justin? Like I said, you may be an impossible to read bastard, but up until we got out of the whale you at least showed _some_ form of emotions, even if it was in lip-quirks and almost impossible to hear laughs. Now you’re just…” Zoro trailed off, looking for the right word. “...Empty, I guess.”

He didn’t reply. He didn’t _want_ to reply, but Zoro had other plans and moved his arms so that he could hold his wrists down above his head with one hand, using the other to force him to look at him.

His breath hitched, his eyes went wide in the shadows of his hood and it took everything he had to not start shaking.

“Justin, what. Is. Wrong?” the swordsman asked firmly, staring into the eyes he couldn’t see. The eyes he would likely _never_ get to see.

He took a deep breath, focusing on his swordsman’s eyes, the eyes so far from the ones threatening to break through his memories. Eyes that were warm with concern instead of cold and uncaring.

“...I-” he started, ready to tell at least _some_ of it when there was a loud crash and a body came flying past, landing on the deck with another crash.

The two of them blinked at the groaning form of Mr. 9 as he got up, only to freeze when he saw the position they were in, Zoro pinning his hands above his head and holding his chin.

The fact Zoro was glaring at him probably didn’t help convince the guy he hadn’t just walked in on something he shouldn’t have.

“I-I, uhm, wha-?” the man stuttered out, staring at the two of them with wide eyes.

“What?” Zoro snapped, stepping away from him and, mercifully, letting go of his hands.

“I, just… Me and my partner wanted to ask if we could sail with your crew until you get to our island?” Mr. 9 finally got out, though his face was starting to go red.

His face remained flat as he put his hands in his pockets and went to stand in front of Merry’s figurehead again, barely glancing at the man as he said “You may stay,” not really thinking either and somehow, he knew that Zoro knew it too.

But honestly, he didn't really care. Because the scars were burning, trying to set him on fire from the inside out and the outside in, and that was all he could really focus on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song is called 'Moonlight Shadow' and I recommend you listen to it, it's really good.
> 
> And anyway, please tell me what you guys think of this, because I'm honestly curious and would really love to know what draws people to this story of mine :)
> 
> See Ya - TheGirlyDJ.


	16. Of False Towns and Princesses

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you've read this story before and are confused by Justin's name change, then go to chapter 12 and read the end-notes.

It had only been an hour since they left the Twin Capes and already they had had to deal with snow, a thunderstorm and a hurricane, which they barely managed with the forced help of their two new passengers, with Zoro somehow sleeping through it all.

But now, there was a calm spring breeze and he felt it was the perfect time to start getting his sniper and navigator into shape.

“Usopp, Nami,” he called, making the two look at him questioningly. “I believe I promised you something just before we entered the Grand Line?”

They both paled and if he hadn’t been so tired, he would have smirked.

“D-Don’t you think that can until those two are gone?” Usopp stuttered out, pointing at their two passengers.

“No,” he told him bluntly, doing his best to ignore Zoro when the man walked to stand beside him, smirking at the two weakest crewmembers. “If we do that, then there’s just gonna be some other excuse. So suck it up, deal with it and get on your arse and do these stretches.”

And so began what would later be dubbed ‘The Hell on Earth Training Session’ by Usopp and Nami and probably everyone else that was put through it that wasn’t him, Zoro or Sanji, (well, mostly him and Zoro). It consisted of him making Usopp and Nami do a lesser version of the stretches he himself used, getting them to do strength and stamina exercise until they dropped, then giving them a slight boost with his Cloud Flames so that the two could move again and then putting them through several martial arts moves that fit their body type. And then sparring with them, he with Usopp and Zoro with Nami.

He’s fairly certain that part was the reason they two he was tort- I mean, training had named it what they did, because most of it involved him and Zoro beating the two into the ground without mercy. They were careful to not break any bones or cause serious injuries beyond bruising, but it was still painful for the navigator and the sniper.

By the time they reached Whisky Peak, their two passengers’ home island, the two trainees were lying collapsed on the deck in two panting heaps, with Sanji hovering over Nami and yelling death threats at Zoro for putting her in that state.

“YOU DAMN IDIOTIC MARIMO-! HOW DARE YOU DO THAT TO NAMI-SWAN!?”

“OI, I WAS JUST DOING WHAT THE CAPTAIN TOLD ME TO! IT AIN’T MY FAULT THE WITCH CAN’T HANDLE IT!”

“YOU WANNA FIGHT, MOSS-HEAD!?”

“BRING IT ON, LOVE-COOK!”

“Enough,” his voice rang out, freezing the two before they could really start fighting. They turned to look at him from were he was standing on the figurehead, looking into the fog. “We’re gonna make land soon. Don’t start something you cannot finish.”

The two grumbled but did as told, Zoro putting away his swords and Sanji lowering his leg. Sanji left to with Nami to make sure she was okay, reluctantly dragging Usopp along too when he told him to, while Zoro moved to stand by the railing behind him.

“Hey Justin,” the swordsman said suddenly, making him hum in question. “How can we unlock our Flames?”

He turned his head to look at Zoro, his unseen gaze boring into him. It didn’t affect the green haired teen, who continued to look at him with a frown. “You said we could, but never how.”

He turned his head back to the sea, silent for a time.

“...There is a way for you to unlock them,” he affirmed, ignoring the way his own Flames twisted and turned inside him, eager to be let out. “But that would require me giving you something I cannot at this moment.”

“What?” Zoro asked in annoyance, no doubt frowning at the prospect of something that could help him get stronger being held back from him.

“My trust,” he replied tonelessly, turning his entire body to stare Zoro down. “And trust is something that is earned, not given.” he moved off the figurehead to start walking towards the galley. “So you better get on that.”

For some reason he didn’t understand, Zoro snorted.

* * *

 

“Bye bye, baby!” he stared at their two passengers as they jumped into the water and swam to the island, silently questioning why they would do that.

“That’s one way to make an exit I suppose,” Nami muttered, now better than she had been before after some rest, though she and Usopp still winced when they moved wrong. “But why not just wait?”

He just hummed, once again sitting on the figurehead and looking into the fog, studying the giant cacti that could be seen above it. As they sailed into an inlet of the island, shapes danced in the fog on either side of them, unsettling his crew.

“I-I don’t like this,” Usopp whispered, his knees shaking.

“Be ready for anything,” Zoro ordered, a hand on his swords. “This could go downhill fast.”

He hummed, hand in the shadows and wrapped around the hilt of one of his swords, ready to be drawn at a moments notice.

Turned out they didn’t need it, because when the fog lifted it revealed a cheering crowd.

“Welcome to the Grand Line!”

“Pirates! Warriors of the high seas!”

“This is Whiskey Peak, the town of celebration!”

“Look at all those cute girls!” Sanji swooned, his eyes once again heart shaped and pink.

He didn’t say anything as his crew greeted the townspeople, too focused on the dead hovering around the town, some looking quite happy to be there, others glaring furiously at the crowd. He knew what those glares meant and he didn’t like it.

They dropped the anchor at a small dock and disembarked, a large man with way to curly hair and a saxophone greeting them.

“Ma, Maa, Maah~!” the man called, clearing his throat. “I am Igarrapori, the Mayor of Whiskey Peak.”

He cocked his head, staring at the man for a bit before responding. “I am Justin, the Captain of this crew. How long does it take for the Log Pose to set?”

The man faltered slightly at his monotone words but quickly gathered himself. “We have heard of your exploits Dark Necromancer, so let us- Ma, Maa, Maah~! Let us welcome a celebrity such as yourself with a party!”

“You didn’t answer my question,” he pointed out tonelessly, still staring him down. “How long does it take for the Log Pose to set?”

The man waved off his question and tried to get him to follow his cook and sniper, who were both already being lead to the building Igarrapori had pointed at. He just shook his head and stepped into the shadows, appearing on the Merry.

“I do not enjoy surprise parties,” he stated, glancing at the crowd and Zoro and Nami. “If you wish to party, then that is fine so long as you return tomorrow.”

Zoro and Nami shared a meaningful look and nodded with an, “Aye Captain.” each before turning and letting themselves be lead to where the party would be.

A few people stayed back and tried to get him to join them, but his glowing eyes stopped them dead the second they tried to board his ship.

“If you hurt so much as a hair on the heads of my crew,” he said ominously, his voice dead as ever and his eyes glowing white. “I will raze this town to the ground. Am I clear?”

He didn’t get an answer, because the few townspeople left had fled the moment he ended his promise. He huffed, moving to the hatch next to the mast and pulling it up, slipping down into the men’s quietly and closing the hatch behind him. He stood there for a bit, debating with himself before pulling off his bracelets and shifting, getting comfortable on the carpet and going to sleep, his ears twitching slightly.

* * *

 

A couple hours later, he was awoken by someone opening the hatch. He shifted, letting the Mist cover him as he opened one eye and lifted his head slightly to see who it was.

“Damn, where is he?!” he heard someone whisper-yell, their loud and clumsy attempt at being quiet making him huff softly. “They said he went down here, but where?!”

He huffed again, standing up and moving swiftly to where the person was, biting down on their leg forcefully, letting the decay moving across their body and enveloping their chest before they even had a chance to scream, killing them instantly. He let go of the bone, letting the still decaying skeleton fall to the floor before he ran into the shadows and appeared in a dark alley in the town, where he shifted back and slipping the bracelets back on.

He walked silently along the shadows, letting the dead lead him to where he wanted to go, following them onto the roof and over the town until he reached the main street just in time to see and hear Zoro make his presence know to the quarter gathered on the ground.

“Hey!” Zoro called, making the group gasp in surprise. “Sorry to interrupt, but do you mind letting my friends sleep? They’ve had a long day and the journey was exhausting!”

“Mr. 8! Ms. Monday! Some of the pirates escaped while we weren’t looking!” a guy called from a doorway into the building.

“He’s right over there,” Ms. Wednesday sighed in irritation. “And what about the Captain?”

“It’s impolite to talk about someone like they’re not even there,” he stated tonelessly, slipping up beside Zoro and into the conversation with ease, staring down at the growing crowd with dead eyes. “Didn’t your mother ever tell you that?”

The woman flinched slightly while the others yelled out their surprise, Zoro glancing at him with a small smirk. “Took you long enough,” the man taunted.

“My apologise,” he deadpanned, glancing at him as well. “I will try to find the bad guys in a timely manner next time.”

Zoro snorted and looked back at the street. “Well anyway, I think I know who they are.”

“You wretch!” the ‘Mayor’ growled. “Why are you not asleep like the others!? And how is _he_ here!?”

“A good swordsman never lets down his guard,” Zoro replied as he stood up. “Besides, I took a nap earlier.”

“The one you sent to take me out was too loud,” was his answer, hands in his pockets. “They woke me up and I decided to stop acting like I didn’t figure out your plan the moment I laid eyes on you. Though I must admit I don’t have the slightest clue as to why you thought it was a good idea to try and steal from us.”

“They’re bounty hunters Captain,” Zoro told him, sword stretched out to the side. “Their specialty is robbing drunk pirates who fall for their hospitality.” he hummed in acknowledgement as Zoro kept talking. ”I count a hundred of them or so. Wanna see who can take down the most?”

He nodded, shifting on his feet and taking his hands out of his pockets to hang loosely by his side. “I could use the exercise.”

Zoro barked out a laugh and narrowed his eyes at the crowd. “You hear that, Baroque Works?! My Captain here sees you all as _exercise_!”

“How do you know that name!?” Igarrapori yelled, shock on his and the crowd’s faces.

“I was in a similar line of work once upon a time,” Zoro called back, a shit eating grin on his face. “Your company tried to recruit me. I said no, naturally.” he rolled his shoulders, putting his foot on the edge and leaning over slightly, his eyes glowing faintly. “Do the same rules still apply? Employ identities kept secret, cheesy codename, the boss’ identity and whereabouts also a mystery? Some secret that is.”

“If you know all out secrets,” Mr. 8 began. “Then we have no choice but to kill you.” the man looked up at them with a dark look. “And two new gravestones shall be added to the cactus rocks tonight. KILL THEM!”

He huffed, stepping into the shadows and letting them take him down into the street. He stepped out of a woman’s shadow, putting his hand over her mouth and pulling her with him into an alley, grabbing her shoulder with his other hand and jerking her head to the side hard enough to break her neck with a sickening crack.

The corpse slumped to the ground and he moved swiftly in the shadows of the buildings, killing those he came across. That is, until he came across a crying child.

He cocked his head, staring down at the small child blankly as a woman dressed like a nun ran up and wrapped her arms around the child, begging him for mercy.

“I don’t kill children,” he stated, easily catching the swords the boy swung at him with his hands, his faintly glowing eyes making him gulp. “However, that doesn’t mean I can’t deal with them some other way.” the glow in his eyes changed from white to indigo as wisps of Mist flickered on his shoulders. **“London Town.”**

The child’s eyes flashed indigo before he went limp, giving him room to launch himself at the woman and kick her in the back, breaking it.

He huffed softly, still glowing eyes a sign he was keeping the illusion up as melting into the shadows to appear next to Zoro. He got a ladder to the gut for his troubles. He couldn’t feel it and it honestly didn’t even wind him as it broke against his body, but still.

He blinked slowly at the gaping woman who had swung the ladder, taking in her dark skin, pink hair and giant muscles before looking down at Zoro, who was on the ground.

“Why are you on the ground?” he asked tonelessly, watching his swordsman huff and get up, glaring slightly at him.

“Because not all of us can take a ladder to the gut and not get hurt by it,” was his retort, the swordsman eyeing his still indigo eyes for a second before continuing. “Why are you here anyway!? This is my fight!”

“I was bored,” he answered, quirking an eyebrow when the other man was grabbed by the throat by the woman. “Still your fight?”

“Yes!” he hissed out. “Go find your own!”

He shrugged, glancing at him one last time before leaving with a muttered, “Don’t die,” thrown over his shoulder as he stepped into the shadows once more. He appeared on the streets and blinked when he saw Ms. Wednesday standing on a giant duck facing him.

“That was easy,” he stated, confusing the woman who quickly shook it off and smiled seductively at him. It made something in him flare up, though what it was he wasn’t really sure about yet.

“Prepare yourself Mr. Captain!” the woman cried, making him cock his head as she put her hands over her head. “Come and enjoy the sensuous fragrance of my perfume!”

The woman started moving her hips from side to side and a smell reached his nose, finally allowing him to identify the feeling in his gut.

Rage.

He shot forward, hand around the woman’s throat before he really realised what he was doing, his rage thick in the air as he glared at her with glowing indigo eyes.

“You _dare_ ,” he hissed, his voice darkening while still remaining dead and the woman choked. “Try and seduce me, _mortal_?” he smirked, dark and bitter as he chuckled humourlessly. “Only one woman has ever been able to do that and you are not her. You will _never_ be her.”

He threw her to the side, her mother’s begging cutting through his rage long enough for him to not kill her, and turned anyway, locking eyes with a watching Zoro. He cocked his head at the swordsman’s unreadable look, questioning.

The man just shook his head, jerking it in the direction of the crew, raising an eyebrow as if to say ‘You coming?’

He nodded, putting his hands in his pockets and walking towards him, ignoring the ragged but breathing Mr. 8 as he did so. Though he did punch Mr. 9 in the face when the man tried to sneak up on him.

“Being defeated by two lowly pirates,” he stopped, turning around again to see the three agents he and Zoro had just defeated being confronted by two others. One a woman dressed in too much yellow, the other a dark skinned man with a finger up his nose.

“Mr. 5!” Mr.9 wheezed, his nose bloody. “Ms. Valentine!”

“Are you guys kidding or what?” the man continued, raising an incredulous eyebrow.

“Kyahahaha!” the woman laughed. “This is just plain evidence of why our status is higher.”

“Did you come here to laugh at us?” Mr. 8 ground out.

“Well, that too,” Mr. 5 replied.

“Kyahahaha! Of course, we’re on a mission as well.”

“Thanks…” Mr. 9 laughed. “They don’t stand a chance with you guys backing us up!”

“That’s right,” Ms. Wednesday called out. “Please, hurry and take care of those two!”

“Quit the lame jokes,” Mr. 5 replied, shocking the three on the ground. “You want us to ‘back you up’?”

“You think we came all this way to the beginning of the Grand Line for that?” Ms. Valentine laughed again. “Idiots!”

“I think that’s enough of that,” he interrupted, drawing the attention of the agents. He stared at them, his voice dead as ever as he talked. “It’s late and while I do like the dark, I also like sleep, so please just say why you’re here instead of running around in circles.”

The woman huffed, glaring at him slightly. “Fine. We are here to kill Princess Nefertari Vivi of Alabasta, as she has infiltrated the organisation.”

And as Mr. 8 jumped up and fired his shotgun-hair at the duo, he just knew this was going to be a pain in the arse.


	17. Of Swear Words and Memorise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm alive! I really have no excuse for taking so long to update this, but for now, give your thanks to Jack_of_Spades_QTY and their comment for giving me the kick in the arse I needed to get going again.
> 
> Hope you enjoy the chapter!
> 
> See Ya - TheGirlyDJ

Vivi didn’t know what to think of the Grim Pack Pirates.

She had seen how dangerous they could be, had seen the First Mate take down Ms. Monday without effort and the Captain ruthlessly break the necks of many of the bounty hunters of Whiskey Peak, as well as go toe-to-toe with Ms. Valentine and Mr. 5 without once breaking a sweat.

She knew that they were dangerous, knew they could kill her easily, but…

It was hard to link the bloodthirsty First Mate and ruthless Captain with the man that always seemed to be sleeping, and the one that allowed her to sail with them despite the fact her very presence put his crew in danger and let her cry against his shoulder when Igaram’s ship was blown up and she thought he had died. They learned from Ms. All Sunday, who had come onto the ship not long after they had left the dock, (And hadn’t that been a sight, to see the emotionless Captain growl threateningly at the dark haired woman with his eyes glowing white) that the man hadn’t been killed, but Justin still pulled her to him as soon as they were alone and rubbed her back soothingly until she broke down and cried her eyes out against his shoulder.

He hadn’t judged her, hadn’t asked if she was okay or if she needed anything. He had just pulled her against him and let her cry the tears she couldn’t allow herself to shed in front of others, silent as the grave and yet still bringing her comfort.

She had been a blushing mess when she finally stopped, but the teen had just ignored her apologise and patted her on the head, before silently leaving her alone to get herself presentable.

The rest of the crew wasn’t any better, the cook a massive flirt who brought treats for her and the navigator while glaring at the swordsman and sometimes staring at the Captain in confusion, the navigator amazing at predicting the weather and completely ruthless when money was involved, and the sniper a fearful teen who lied a lot and often tinkered with something. Though the brutal training the Captain and First Mate put the sniper and navigator through made it much easier to see that they were, in fact, both incredibly sadistic.

She realised it was for their own good, but some of the stretches they had to do made her shudder in horror, right alongside the ‘sparring matches’ the four had at the end. And from what she had gathered, this was only the  _ second _ time they had done so. Good God.

The Captain of the ship was silent more often than not, face always hidden by the shadow of his hood and what was showing never moving unless he was talking, his words a dull monotone that never changed no matter what happened. He was a killer, uncaring about everyone and everything he didn’t see as ‘His’ and he would happily set the world ablaze to see them safe.

He was a ruthless murderer, a terrifying pirate, an emotionless sociopath, someone who had threatened her and that she by all rights should hate with everything she had…

Instead, she was slowly falling for him.

This was bad.

* * *

 

”So this is Little Garden?” he mumbled, staring into the dark forest in front of him as he leaned over the railing of his ship.

“There’s nothing ‘little’ about this place,” Nami grumbled, warily glaring into the thick forest.

“I vote we don’t go on the island,” Usopp exclaimed, his entire body shaking uncontrollably. “I think I can feel my Don’tGoOnThatIsland-disease acting up.”

Their comments made his lips quirk but he stayed silent, turning to Sanji, who was smoking just outside the galley.

“What’s the status with the food Sanji?” the cook looked at him. “Not good,” he answered with a sigh. “It’s running low and, depending on how long it takes for the Log to set, we won’t have enough to get us to the next island.”

He nodded, pushing himself up to stand straight, turning to face the rest of the crew. “Listen up,” that got the attention of those that hadn’t already been looking at him (Zoro and the giant duck that followed Vivi around). “I understand that some of you,” he looks at Nami and Usopp, who grin sheepishly. “Don’t want to leave the ship, but with our food stores so low, we don’t really have a choice. Me, Sanji and Zoro will go and hunt whatever game we can find, while Usopp, Nami and Vivi will look for whatever edible plants they can find. If you aren’t sure if something can be eaten, then just leave it. I’d rather go without then have any of us get sick, especially when we don’t have a doctor yet. Understand?” nods all around, though Nami and Usopp looked noticeably displeased.

“Good,” having said that, he turned around, placed a foot on the railing, and launched himself onto the island.

Ha landed to the shouts of the other, barely turning his head to look at Zoro and Sanji. “If you don’t hurry, there won’t be much left for you two to hunt,” he stated dully, inwardly smirking at the scowls those words earned him.

“Is that a challenge, shitty Captain?” Sanji bit out around his cigarette, vein pulsing on both the cook and the swordsman’s foreheads. He shrugged, turning back to the jungle as he pulled his swords out of his shadow. “Maybe it is,  **Krâska Sarïn** ,” he said dully, the rolling R’s and strong vowels of his mother tongue falling from his lips without his consent, sending waves of nostalgia and longing crashing through his body, right alongside panic and confusion. He ignores the confused looks he can feel on his back, walking deeper into the jungle to get away from the feeling of his Flames straining to get out. 

“Accept if you wish.” and with that, he was gone, leaving behind a confused crew, and a princess who may or may not have notice him walking slightly faster than he had to.

* * *

He had expected many things from Little Garden. He had expected it to be strange (It was). He had expected it to be dangerous (It was). He had expected it to be an adventure (It wasn’t yet).

What he had not expected, was him blurting out words _in_ _ his mother tongue _ in front of people who he had know for all of a month, close to two (Speaking of which, he was up for another period soon. Ah the joys of being a woman (Note the sarcasm please)), when it had taken almost  _ nine years _ for him to feel comfortable enough around the two boys he saw as his brothers for him to speak in that tongue in front of them, even teaching them a few phrases in the language (Mostly swear words to be honest), and those two had survive Garp with him!

_ ‘So why,’ _ he thought, sitting on top of the dinosaur he had absentmindedly killed while he was ranting in his head.  _ ‘Did I speak it to them?’ _

Deep down, he knew the answer, but right now, he just wanted to take a moment to wallow in self pity, something he didn’t indulge in very often, in his original world or in the one he was in now, but it felt like the right thing to do after what he had just done and the memorise it brought up.

Memorise of running around with his siblings, memorise of watching his mother’s stomach slowly become rounder and rounder as his little sister continued to grow, memorise of Ageing Days gone both right and wrong and many, many more.

He closed his eyes and exhaled, losing himself in the memories of happier times.  _ ‘This is what I fight for,’  _ he thought, a light smile lifting his lips as he remember his little sister’s first few steps, her rimmed emerald eyes sparkling beautifully and her short black and red hair big and fuzzy from all the effort as she slowly hobbled towards their ecstatic mother.  _ ‘ _ This  _ is why I am here.’ _

But of course, his trip down memory lane couldn’t continue and before he knew it, he had somehow ended up being invited to dinner with Vivi by a 500 foot tall giant named Dorry.

How was this his life?

* * *

 

“How is it,” she started, her face so deadpan it could probably put out a fire. “That every time I leave you to your own devices, things like this happen?”

Because in front of her was what looked like a giant birthday cake made of wax, with three of her crew and their guest stuck to it.

“JUSTINE! STOP ASKED STUPID QUESTIONS AND GET US OUT OF HERE YOU IDIOT!” Nami screeched at her, Usopp and Vivi nodding along furiously. She just cocked her head, staring at Zoro in mild confusion.

“Zoro,” she eventually said, voice belaying her confusion. “What  _ are _ you doing? I understand that you’re being turned into wax statues in an unnecessarily complicated way, but shouldn’t you be trying to, I don’t know,  _ break _ the wax?” she was seriously questioning her First Mate’s intelligence when she saw all he was doing was striking a pose, sword in the air and hand on his side.

“Already did,” was his nonchalant response, though she could see the faint glimmer of irritation in his eyes. “I can’t cut it.”

“Ah,” was all she could say, easily dodging a stream of wax thrown at her. “Well, that’s inconvenient.” she ignored the twin yells of “YOU THINK!?”, turning to the giant she asked “And I guess you’re Brogy?”

“Aye,” the giant rumbled, eyeing her the same way Dorry had. The way that made it clear to her they knew what she was. “And you’re the Captain they were cursing out?”

She snorted, avoiding the paint thrown at her. “I presume so, yes. Also,” she turned, glaring fiercely at the duo attacking her. “Will you stop that!? I’m trying to have a conversation here!”

They froze, the strange man with the number 3 for hair staring at her in disbelief, while the young girl looked scared of her glare. The expression on the girl’s face made her soften her features, but she was still noticeably displeased.

“Look sweetie, I don’t hurt kids, but if you don’t leave me alone, I’m afraid I’ll have to,” she warned the girl, the mere thought of hurting a child sending waves of disgust through her, not that they needed to know that. “Understand?”

The girl nodded, quickly backing away and leaving the 3-guy alone.

“Wha-!? Ms. Goldenweek-!”

“Oh no you don’t,” she growled, cutting the guy off before he could finish, her eyes glowing bright white. “A  _ child _ has no business fighting against someone who could kill them, so shut your trap before I do it for you!”

Now the guy looked afraid, sweat beading on his face.

“JUSTINE!” the panicked screech of her navigator brought her attention back to the wax-cake, both her Flames and Devil Fruit roaring in anger when she saw they were almost completely encased in wax.

**“Forâ hïn!”** she swore, grabbing her swords from her back and sprinting towards them. “Sorry guys, got carried away!”

“Hey, wait a second-!” she ignored the 3-guy, lifting her swords up and slashing at the wax structure. It broke apart, finely cut chunks falling to the ground.

She turned, giving the guy a frightening grin as her crew picked themselves out of the rubble.

“Now,” she purred, taking great pleasure in the way the guy flinched back, paying no mind to the two strangely dressed people running out of the forest. Seriously, one of them looked like a lemon. “Tell me, exactly, why you thought it would be a good idea to  _ kill my crew. _ ”

The one dressed like a lemon fainted.


	18. Of Rants and Harmony.

What followed wasn’t so much a fight as it was her  _ scaring the everloving shit _ out of the three adults by going on a massive rant about, among other things, them trying to kill her crew, trying to kill Vivi, almost killing Dorry (He wasn’t following Brogy, so she knew he was alive.) and, to top it off, making Ms. Goldenweek fight for them.

That last part of her rant was even more violent, firstly because she was a  _ child _ (If they had been in her original world, she would have gotten these  **_Krânva_ ** fucking  _ executed _ for that!) and secondly because, in the middle of her rant, she had gotten her period, making her fall to the floor in a moaning heap for all of three seconds before she was back up and beating the stupid  **_Krânva_ ** to a bloody pulp while she ranted at them, a few choice words in her mother tongue no doubt slipping through.

After she was sure they weren’t getting up, (And she ran out of things to rant about.) she finally collapsed on the ground and moaned her displeasure at the pain now coming from her abdomen.

“A-Are you alright miss?” she opened her eyes, glancing up at the concerned face of Ms. Goldenweek, giving her a reassuring smile.

“Don’t you worry sweetie, I’m fine. Just tired,” the girl looked slightly unsure as she nodded, quietly sitting down next to her. She smiled again, craning her head to look at the approaching forms of her crew and Vivi.

“You alright?” she asked, scanning their forms for injuries, her Flames gradually calming down when she didn’t see any.

Zoro snorted, smirking as he crouched down next to her. “Shouldn’t we be the ones asking you that?” 

She huffed, groaning at the stab of pain the action brought her. “Fair point, now pick me up you jackass.”

The swordsman snorted as he did just that, putting an arm under her knees and the other against her back, hoisting her up to lay bridal style in his arms. She turns her head to look at Vivi, who was looking at her with a mix of shock and fascination. “I assume you told her why I’m suddenly a girl?” she asked, looking up at Zoro, who just grunted in response. “I’ll just take that as a yes.”

Zoro snorted again, before glancing down at Ms. Goldenweek, who was looking at them nervously. “So, Captain, what do we do with her?”

She looked at the girl and, noticing the way she tensed, gave her a reassuring smile. “Well, that depends on what she wants to do now,” at Vivi and her crew’s confused look, and the girl’s shocked one, she elaborated. “Well, if she wants to stay here, she can, but if she wants to come with us until the next island, she can do that too.”

Apparently, this declaration shocked everyone, even though she thought it was a fairly standard thing to offer to a lost child.

“...What if I want to stay with you?”

She laughed quietly, smiling at the nervous girl. “You’re sweet, but if you actually wanted to be here, or at sea really, then I wouldn’t have gotten so angry at those three,” she motioned to the twitching pile of bodies off to the side. “While you are a child, you are old enough that, if you had truly wanted to be here, I would have treated you as an adult.” she grinned brightly at the girl. “But to me, it was plain as day that you did  _ not _ want to do what those three were trying to make you do, which pissed me off.” her smile turned into a scowl. “No child should be  _ forced _ to fight. It’s alright if they  _ want _ to fight and know  _ how, _  but if they don't  want, or don’t know how, or both, then it is very  _ not alright _ and those  **sâkna** **_Krânva_ ** **sâ lï mâtarin fu orum âkra sâkanta** -!”

She cut herself off, realising she had gotten so worked up she slipped into her mother tongue again. She coughed sheepishly at the confused looks being directed at her. “Needless to say things like that make me angry.”

The girl let out a quiet giggle, making her grin again. “So, what do you want to do?” she gently asks the girl.

By now, Zoro had decided he was tired of standing, and had sat himself down cross legged on the ground, laying her down sideways across his lap with his arm supporting her back so she look at Ms. Goldenweek without straining her neck.

“I…” the girl trailed off, eyes flickering between her and her crew unsurely before quietly whispering, “I want to go with you.”

She grinned again, possibly blinding the people standing near her. “I was hoping you’d say that,” she confessed, her grin softening to a smile. “We’ll drop you off at the next island then?”

“Actually,” they turn, looking at Vivi. The princess continued. “If they were really forcing you to fight Ms. Goldenweek-”

“Marianne,” the girl blurted out, blushing when all eyes turned to her. “My name, it’s Marianne.”

Vivi looked surprised but nodded anyway. “Right, if they were forcing you to fight Marianne, then I would like to offer you a place in my country once we have taken it back.”

She beamed at the princess for the offer, making her blush for some reason, while Marianne nodded timidly. Then she blinked, looking around. “Hey, where’s Sanji?”

* * *

 

After they had found Sanji (Who had somehow found an Eternal Pose to Alabasta  _ in the middle of a jungle!), _  and he had fussed over her, they stayed on the island for a few days to gather provisions and because  _ she wanted to be able to move on the ship dammit, _ but now, after three days, they had stocked the Going Merry with as much dinosaur meat as they could, plus what fruits and vegetables they had found, and they were now ready to depart.

“Remember, Little Demigod,” Dorry, who was standing on the left shore of the river they were sailing down, began. “Just sail straight forward and we will take care of any obstacles.”

She gave them a thumbs up, eagerly watching as a giant red goldfish came out of the ocean to try and eat them, before being shredded by Dorry and Brogy.

Marianne had been placed in the women’s quarters with her, Nami and Vivi, and though she had been very shy the first few days, she quickly opened up to them when she realised that,  _ no, they really weren’t going to force her to fight _ and  _ oh my God, the chef’s food is amazing. _  She also explained that, once her period was over, she would probably go back to being a man, and that she shouldn’t be alarmed if she was less… lively, while male. “It’s not that I don’t feel emotions,” she had told her one night at dinner. “I just don’t like to show them.”

“Why not?” Marianne had asked, staring at her with large brown eyes.

She had just smiled sadly and ruffled her hair, not answering the question. (Everyone noticed)

However, two days after they had departed from Little Garden, she noticed something was… off, about Nami.

“Nami?” she asked, kneeling down next to the navigator leaning against the mast. “Are you alright? You look kinda red.”

Nami glanced at her, giving her a small smile when she saw her concerned face. “I’m fine Justine,” she reassured her, standing up. “I just… need… to lie down.” and with that, Nami collapsed, breathing heavily and face red with fever.

Her Flames  _ wailed. _

* * *

 

“Vivi,” it was evening and Nami was only getting worse, her fever rising and her breathing getting more and more laboured. “Have you checked for an infection?”

The princess blinked up at her in confusion, a look of realisation appearing not a second later. “Oh! I didn’t even think of that!” she just nodded, turning to the men of her crew.

“We’ll need to undress Nami to look for infection, so if you wouldn’t mind?” she raised an eyebrow, giving them a pointed look until they all turned around awkwardly. She nodded, turning back to Nami and helping Vivi get her clothes off. They found the infection almost immediately, a bright red mark on her stomach.

Her Flames wailed mournfully at the sight, desperate to reach out and help, but she held firm, no matter how much she wanted to help too. “This is bad,” she mumbled as she examined the infected area, poking and prodding it carefully. “I know for a fact Nami didn’t have this the day before we left, and she would have told us if she had somehow hurt herself, which means this is a bug bite of some kind.”

“Why’s that bad?” Zoro asked gruffly, confused. “Wouldn’t it be worse if it was a wound?”

“No,” she answered shortly, doing her best to not snap at anyone but dammit _ her Storm was dying and she couldn’t do anything. _  “With a wound, all you need to do is clean it and that usually fixes things, but bugs.” she shook her head. “It’s all too common for bugs to carry diseases or bacteria that need a specific medicine to cure it.”

“Which we don’t have,” Vivi said tiredly.

She just nodded.

“NAMI’S GONNA DIED!?” Usopp and Sanji screamed, while Zoro just clenched his jaw and Marianne quietly started crying.

 

That… was  _ not _ a good thing to say.

 

She doubled over with a cry as her Flames  _ roared _ , louder and stronger then they ever had before,  _ mine, protect, Bond, My Storm, My Guardian, MINE! _ echoing as they thrashed to be let out.

“JUSTINE!” everyone screamed, Zoro surging forward to catch her before she fell over, arm tightening around her waist. “WHAT’S WRONG!?”

She just grit her teeth and did her best to keep hold of her Flames, but it was no good, invisible tendrils escaping to curl around the Dormant Flames of her navigator.

“Shit,” she hissed, wrenching herself out of Zoro’s hold to fall to her knees next to Nami’s head. “Nami, you’d better wake up  _ right now, _  because if you don’t, you’ll be in for one _ hell _ of a surprise when you finally do.”

“EH!?” she ignored the outburst, which could either be because of what she had said or because of the fact she was losing control of her Mist and the illusion around her was disappearing because of that, or it was a combination of both. Nevertheless she ignored it, focusing on Nami with eyes glowing bright amber.

Nami groaned, opening her eyes to look at her, her eyes widening when she saw her face.

“Justine…” she was whispering, to weak to do much more than that. “Your illusion.”

She smiled sheepishly. “Yeah, I know. You dying isn’t exactly something neither I nor my Flames agree with and right now, I’m doing everything I can to make sure I don’t Harmonize with you, so I can’t really keep it up.”

Her eyes widened even more at the word ‘Harmonize’.

“That’s how we unlock them,” Nami breathed. “We have to Harmonize with a Sky. With you.”

The shocked breaths behind her told her the others (Apart from Vivi, Marianne and Carue, who just sounded extremely confused) had realised the same as Nami. She nodded, feeling her Sky purr in happiness at how smart her -  _ no, not hers, not yet _ \- the Storm was. “Yes. The only way to unlock them if you’re too old to do it the ‘traditional way’ is to Harmonize with a Sky,” she hesitated for all of a second before she kept going. “You’re a Stormy Mist, Nami, which is why my Flames are going berserk right now trying to Harmonize with you, since a Storm’s Flames naturally attack and get rid of anything harmful that enters the bloodstream. Though, to be honest, I don’t know if it’ll help you or not, since I’ve never heard of a Storm becoming active with something like this already in their bloodstream.” she gestures at the mark on her stomach.

She looks shyly at the navigator, fidgeting with her sleeve. “There’s also the fact,” she starts, silent dread filling her. “That if we Harmonize, that’s it. No take backs, no saying ‘Sorry, but this isn’t working out’ no nothing. You’ll be bound to me for the rest of your life, our Flames forever intertwined.” she looks the navigator dead in the eye as she says her final words. “You will share my lifespan and, if I die, it is very likely that you will as well, or, at the very least, go insane.”

The room is silent after she stops talking, the only sound that of the waves hitting against Merry’s haul and Nami’s shallow breath.

But then the navigator’s eyes hardened with something she was all too familiar with. Determination.

“Do it,” she said, and that was almost enough for her to lose her grip on her Flames, but she held tight, gritting her teeth at the effort.

“You don’t understand…” she ground out, desperate to not take her navigator’s freedom away like this. “This isn’t-”

“For God sakes Justine!” Nami yelled, weak but loud. “Just do it already!”

And with that, she lost what little control she had left, Sky Flames pouring from her in bright orange waves, drawing surprised shrieks from half the room. Her Flames eagerly went to Nami, gently coaxing Dormant Storm and Mist Flames until they surged forward and latched onto her own.

She and Nami gasped simultaneously as the Bond snapped into place, and she felt her Flames dance in glee, curling around the newly formed Bond with  _ Mine, My Storm, My Guardian, My Bond, MINE! _ ringing through once again, only this time it was much more possessive.

However, it seemed her Flames had taken this as an invitation (That and her sudden exhaustion from finally Harmonizing with someone) and the last thing she felt before blacking out was three other Bonds snapping into place, followed by three yelps as everything went dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am aware of the fact Ms. Goldenweek is out of character, but this is just how she is in this story. If you don't like it, then go read something else.
> 
> See Ya! - TheGirlyDJ.


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